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The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting at Town Hall on July 21 to approve a $15,945 contract to repair two standalone spinning play components at the Mead Park playground that have become wobbly after years of use at the popular facility.
Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo presented the request, saying the town had been alerted to the problem by members of the public who noticed the equipment was no longer functioning properly.
“There’s just caution tape around it,” Restivo said of the components. “It still moves and it still functions, but it’s very wobbly.”
The equipment was originally installed by Pat Corsetti, Inc. in 2019 as part of a roughly $500,000 playground project, half of which was funded by the town and the rest raised privately, including contributions from the Friends of Mead Playground. The components are now out of their three year warranty, meaning the repair costs fall to the town.
The contract with Pat Corsetti, who will perform the repairs, totals $14,495, with an additional $1,450 contingency, for a total not to exceed $15,945. Funds are available in the parks department capital budget.
Selectmen also noted that the playground sees extremely heavy use.
“By 8 a.m. it’s a zoo,” Restivo said of the park.
Selectman Steve Karl said, “If you ever put an odometer on that merry-go-round to see how many times that thing went around, you could probably light up both fields with power.”
First Selectman Dionna Carlson raised a broader concern about the long-term cost of outdoor playground equipment, noting that public-private partnerships for playground installations tend to shift the maintenance burden entirely onto the town once the initial excitement wears off.
“Everybody loves public-private partnerships, but the partnership ends when maintenance gets to us,” Carlson said. “It’s really hard to get people excited about rebuilding.”
She encouraged the Parks Department to build repair and replacement costs into future budgets, noting that outdoor playground equipment typically has a useful life of about 15 years.
Restivo said he plans to reach out to the nonprofit friends group to see if it might be willing to contribute toward future repairs as well.
The repairs are expected to be completed quickly once supplies arrive, officials said. Restivo said he would contact the contractor the same day as the vote for a timeline.