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BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
Northvale, New Jersey—An effort to replace children’s playground equipment at two parks has led to back-and-forth charges—involving public safety and borough liability— between two mayoral candidates facing off in the Nov. 6 election.
A bond ordinance that allocates $117,000 for the replacement of playground equipment at two parks, Hogan Park and Veterans Park, was approved unanimously Aug. 1 by the borough council amid charges by a mayoral candidate that residents were not properly notified of Hogan Park’s shutdown and possible borough liability due to outdated recreational equipment.
Only Hogan Park was closed following an inspection by the borough’s insurance fund. However, equipment at both parks is being replaced because it was installed at approximately the same time in the mid-1990s by public works employees.
In emails to Northern Valley Press, Independent mayoral candidate Patrick Marana—a former councilman—alleged that Mayor Stanley “Ed” Piehler had failed to inform residents of an emergency closure of Hogan Park in late May and did not provide details until mid-June on his Facebook page about the shutdown.
‘Willing to say anything’
Reached Aug. 2 Piehler charged Marana is “willing to say anything and twist the facts in any way, shape or fashion…to mislead the public…into voting for him in November.”
Piehler said the playground passed inspection by Northvale’s insurance carrier in 2017 and in May 2018 residents raised safety concerns to the council.
Piehler said they first asked public works to try to repair the equipment and that “at no time did the actions of the Mayor and Council expose the Borough to liability.”
“To the contrary, after conferring with DPW, it was determined to have the insurance carrier reinspect (more than three months ahead of when they normally do) the playground. At that time (late May 2018) the insurance company determined that certain apparatus should not be repaired, but instead recommended replacement. As soon as that determination was made, in order to protect the children of Northvale, the Hogan Park playground had to be closed, the borough began exploring options to fund the necessary new equipment and repairs,” said Piehler.
Piehler said his primary concern has been protecting residents and not wasting taxpayer resources. He charged that “the borough had a budget crisis because of poor decisions and planning that are the direct result of [Marana’s] longtime position as Financial Liaison for Northvale.”
Piehler alleged former councilman Marana’s recommendation for zero percent tax increases three years in a row “ignores the fact that costs continuously rise,” noting all Marana’s zero-percent increases “landed us where we are today.”
‘A protrusion hazard’
According to a “Loss Control Report” issued May 25 from the county Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, which does not identify a specific park, it notes: “Playground facilities were surveyed according to federal guidelines from the Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Playground Safety Handbook, CPSC Publication 325.”
The report notes “priority #1 hazards” were discovered, specifically “noncompliant hardware is causing a protrusion hazard and an entanglement hazard…a protrusion hazard on a piece of play equipment is a protrusion that can penetrate the eye socket or temple area of a child’s head. An entanglement hazard on a piece of play equipment can cause death by strangulation,” the report notes.
It recommends the equipment manufacturer “be immediately called to abate this hazard…[and] until fix, the equipment should be taken out of service.”
‘Unsafe…sharp edges’
“The plastic coating on the stairs and platform on the set at Hogan Park had become unsafe where sharp edges created by cracked plastic could have done some serious damage. My goal was to have our DPW remove the stairs and platform; weld and secure new bars across the now open space, remove any sharp edges and paint it,” wrote Piehler in mid-June on Facebook.
“That’s when the JIF (Joint Insurance Fund) stepped in. They inspected the set and their decision was that the entire set be shut down and fenced in; not just taped off. As they are the Borough’s insurer we immediately followed their directive,” he wrote.
A child injured
Marana said due to a child apparently being injured on equipment at Hogan Park, the mayor had asked the public works department to fix the broken equipment.
“And by so doing expose the town to liability,” charged Marana in an email.
Marana said the mayor revealed via Facebook that the county Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, a local group-insurance fund for municipalities, “had inspected and determined that the entire playground should be shut down.”
This occurred after the public works department recommended the playground be inspected by the borough’s insurance fund following its inspection of the playground.
Local official sources confirmed that Public Works Superintendent Briant Bodrato toured the sites with an inspector from the county Joint Insurance Fund. Following receipt of an insurance inspection report, the mayor and council requested the public works department block off Hogan Park to prevent public access. Veterans Park remained open.
Efforts to reach Bodrato were not returned by press time.
Several sources with knowledge of the insurance report said it detailed potential safety hazards with outdated playground equipment at both parks, including worn or missing vinyl coverings that exposed sharp edges, protruding nuts and bolts, and other potential dangers.
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Total $450,000 bond issue
The playground upgrades were part of a $450,000 bond issue approved, including $33,000 for fire department equipment and machinery; $228,500 for DPW snow plows, a dump truck with snow plow and salter and a pickup truck; and $71,500 for a DPW leaf vacuum machine and vehicle diagnostic equipment.
Preceding the vote to bond for improvements, Marana told Northern Valley Press that Mayor Piehler “admitted that he had applied too late for county Open Space grants” which may have cost the borough grant funding for new playgrounds. “Just another example of neglect and mismanagement by Mayor Piehler,” alleged Marana.
However, Piehler’s Facebook post said the borough withdrew its Open Space applications because final awarding of funds would take too long to get the playgrounds operational again.
“Considering the condition of the playground equipment in both parks the Borough felt it more prudent to pull the application for the Open Space Grant and seek other options,” he posted on Facebook in June.
“Our intention now is to bond (borrow money over time at low rates) for new playground equipment at both parks,” explained Piehler on Facebook. At that point, he said, plans were to have new playgrounds in place by August.
‘Better safe than sorry’
“We know it may be inconvenient for many of our youngest residents, but as the old saying ‘better safe than sorry’ goes, it definitely applies here,” wrote Piehler.
As of July 31, no separate mention of the Hogan Park shutdown or any plans to replace playground equipment at Hogan Park or Veterans Park could be found on the borough website.
According to the bond ordinance, the $117,000 cost is for “replacement of both playgrounds” and does not mention costs for ongoing playground maintenance.
Also, local sources indicated that now municipal employees may not do maintenance work on playground equipment, as this could mean potential borough liability should an injury occur.
“The fact is that someone got hurt on the equipment at Hogan Park and the equipment is in a dangerous state of repair there,” Marana said via phone July 31.
Marana said how long it will take to replace the equipment and who will maintain the new playgrounds in the future remains unknown.
Piehler and local officials estimated four to six weeks for delivery of equipment, followed by installation by a vendor, with final installation likely by October or November. In addition, local sources said the public works department cannot install the new playground equipment due to liability concerns.
Originally, public works employees installed both park playgrounds in 1995 or 1996, said officials.
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