[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
NORTHVALE, N.J.—Nearly $85,000 in new playground equipment should arrive soon and be installed in two local parks, a source of previous political friction between independent mayoral candidate Patrick Marana and Mayor Ed Piehler over alleged hazardous conditions and public safety risks due to the deteriorating equipment.
In mid-September public works employees worked to remove the original playground equipment installed in both parks by the DPW in the mid-1990s, said Billy Guyt, DPW foreman.
Guyt said having DPW employees dismantle and remove the existing playgrounds saved the borough approximately $23,000 in costs if they had to hire a contractor to do the work.
“We’re giving this priority to have the old playgrounds removed,” said Guyt Sept. 20.
Guyt said Hogan Park equipment was removed and that Veterans Park was to be done by Sept. 21.
“We used the backhoe to pull them out of the ground and we pulled the footings out, too,” Guyt said.
Installation costs
Borough Clerk Wanda Worner said Whirl Construction, of Port Monmouth, will handle both installations. She said the costs include $11,100 for Hogan Park and $9,400 for Veterans Park. Previously, local officials said the public works department could not install the equipment due to liability concerns.
Worner said via email that total playground equipment and installation cost was $105,391.91.
“Our DPW will be doing all of the removal of the old equipment [and disposal] and all the preparation for installation, bringing the ground to a level base—safety first,” she wrote.
Worner said funds left over from the original $117,000 amount bonded for the playground replacements “will be returned to capital as all unexpended balances of [bond ordinances] are,” she added.
Both Piehler and Marana clashed in August over allegations Piehler did not notify residents of the reasons for closure of Hogan’s Park and potential borough liability should anyone be injured on unsafe equipment.
Piehler told Northern Valley Press he notified the public via his Facebook page in mid-June of the playground’s closure, and following a Joint Insurance Fund report, had Hogan Park roped off to prevent access and any potential liability.
Order placed Aug. 15
Although he promised in June via Facebook to have new playgrounds in place by August, the resolution—approved unanimously Sept. 12—says the equipment order was placed Aug. 15.
Worner said the equipment was shipped from the manufacturer, GameTime, of Spring Lake, early the third week of September and due to arrive within days.
A flyer disseminated from “Northvale Residents for Change”—an organization supporting Marana for mayor— charged in a summer headline “And the playground that isn’t” while attacking Piehler for missing out on state Open Space grants for subsidizing the new playgrounds.
Piehler explained that the borough did not miss out on Open Space grants for the replacement equipment, but due to a long waiting period between grant application and awarding, he said the prudent course was to bond for new equipment to get it done as quickly as possible and have the parks opened and safe.
Photos courtesy GameTime