Commission looks at playground safety, water meters
By:
Jamie Hult/Staff writer
Jamie Hult
Staff writer
The Valley Springs Board of Commissioners discussed replacing water meters, updating playground equipment and adding on to the Cassidy Park memorial at its regular meeting Aug. 8.
The commissioners approved a motion to put out bids for a water and sewer extension to property to the north which was annexed in and will house a repair shop.
Mayor Carl Moss said work had started on the property and recommended the board move forward with the bid process.
“Maybe we should start moving forward so we’re not caught with our pants down,” Moss said.
Clark Engineering has drawn up plans for the project, which will cost an estimated $29,890 and involve connecting to existing pipe, which will run under Hwy. 62 and cap on the other side. The board discussed the project in 2015 but pushed it off.
The board also approved a motion to apply for a loan to replace all residential and commercial water meters in Valley Springs. The board considered applying for a grant for the project, which will cost an estimated $120,000, but determined the city did not have matching funds for the grant, which is typically awarded to higher dollar projects.
Valley Springs will be adding on to the Steve Ackerman Memorial at Cassidy Park. The board of commissioners last week gave city attorney Patrick Glover the green light to draft a policy for the green space garden memorial, which will incorporate the names of civil servants and “outstanding citizens” in Valley Springs. A dedication to the Ackerman memorial will be held in September.
City maintenance supervisor Ryan Nussbaum said an insurance representative for the city had taken a look at the playground equipment at Cassidy Park and determined the jungle gym and swings were not in compliance with safety standards.
Nussbaum relayed that the spacing of rungs in the jungle gym were a potential safety hazard for children whose heads could be caught in the openings.
“If something happened there wouldn’t be much ground to stand on,” he said. “Somebody who wants to stir something up could probably stir something up.”
The swing set requires more open space in front of and behind the swings to be in compliance, Nussbaum said.
“We’ve had this insurance company for how long and all of a sudden we’re not in compliance – that’s what upsets me,” Moss said. “They couldn’t have told us that when we built it?”
The commissioners will look at playground recommendations from the insurance company at their next meeting, set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12 at Valley Springs City Hall.
