Plymouth Park Board discusses 30 year old wooden play structure

Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at 9:01 PM

The wooden play structure in Centennial Park may be a thing of the past.

During Monday’s Plymouth Park Board meeting, president Mike Kershner said the play structure had a life expectancy of 20 years, but the structure has been in place for 30 years with maintenance and repairs by the park staff.

Superintendent Mike Hite said Leathers, the company where the play structure was purchased from, was shocked to learn the park was still using the equipment. They indicated that wooden structures are a thing of the past. New play structures are being created with composite decking and a new one could cost upwards of $800,000.

Kershner created a committee including himself and park board members Cayla Wade and Alex Eads. He said they are going to take their time and investigate the options. Kershner said the park department has several different play structures including the one in Freedom Park, the new playground in River Park Square and the equipment recently installed near the Hoosier Old Wheels Shelter. They are going to see which ones are liked the most by the kids.

Mayor Listenberger said they will be searching for grant opportunities to help fund the new project. The new Friends of the Park group will also be fundraising for the park.