LAKEPORT, Calif. – Library Park is slated to soon have new playground equipment thanks to a vote by the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday.
Public Works Director Doug Grider and one of his staffers, Ron Ladd, were on hand to present the request to authorize City Manager Margaret Silveira to sign the $74,687.19 purchase order and purchase agreement with Santa Rosa-based Ross Recreation Equipment.
He said the current structure – which was donated about 10 years ago – is made of an old Trex-type material. It has warped and twisted and started to come apart, and it’s starting to get hard to hold it together.
Additionally, the company that built it has gone out of business, and due to liability concerns other companies won’t sell parts. Grider said the result is that they can’t get replacement parts for it.
His memo to the council said that the new equipment was determined to be necessary “in order to meet safety requirements and the rising demand for children’s activities in Library Park.”
The play structure’s selection was taken to the Lakeport Parks and Recreation Commission, which reviewed six play structures presented from three vendors, according to Grider’s report.
“The commission looked at a number of factors in making their decision, these factors included suitability for Library Park, history of the manufacturer and their products, current and future availability of parts and support, quality and durability of the product and value versus cost,” he wrote.
Grider’s report noted that appropriations were approved for the playground equipment purchase in the current fiscal year budget from anticipated Measure Z sales tax revenues.
He said that in choosing the new structure, city staff made sure the materials used and the companies providing the equipment had long histories.
The selected company, Ross Recreation Equipment, is in Santa Rosa, where it has been for more than 25 years, Grider said.
In addition, he noted that the company is extremely responsive and the city gets orders for replacement parts promptly, which is important when trying to avoid shutting down a play structure.
The Landscape Structures PlayBooster model 107686-2-2 features minor additions to the original design. Ladd said it is for children ages 5 to 12.
Ladd said Public Works staff had worked hard on the project. “It’s been a long process to get what we have right now before you,” he said.
The project also will give the city an opportunity to improve accessibility routes to the playground equipment, with Ladd noting that codes have changed over the years.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked about the design, which includes a poster-type panel identifying various kinds of fish.
Ladd said it’s a nature design with lime green accents. Despite it being difficult to ask a manufacturer to change anything on such structures – which he said are designed down to the millimeter – Ladd said Ross Recreation Equipment really worked with the city on getting the right design.
Councilman George Spurr was concerned about a low-lying balance bar being a trip hazard.
Ladd said such features are good to have as they help children develop.
Grider added that there has been a shift in the playground industry and the government agencies overseeing it, which are lightening up on some of the risk assessments.
He said that children being exposed to cause and effect is part of development and learning, and if equipment is made too safe, children develop the mentality that they can do anything and not get injured. As a result, he said the regulatory agencies are now moving to allow for more risk in the equipment.
Mattina moved to approve the purchase, which was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Tim Barnes and passed by the council 5-0.
In other business, Mayor Mireya Turner presented a proclamation designating the week of April 15 to 21 as Volunteer Week to Lakeport Police Department volunteers; the council held a public hearing and voted to authorize Silveira to negotiate and execute an energy services contract with ENGIE Services for the performance of energy upgrades; and the council adopted the city’s Lakeport SB 1 Project List for fiscal year 2018-19 and directed staff to submit it to the California Transportation Commission.
The council also adopted a resolution accepting the Hotel Feasibility Study prepared for the city by HVS and approved an engineering services agreement with Quincy Engineering for an amount not to exceed $125,000 for the completion of engineering design services for a water main loop line connecting the South Main Street water main with the Parallel Drive water main.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
041718 Lakeport City Council meeting agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd