By: Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County TimesGrayson Sports Park manager Grant Harper is hoping for an early spring installation of sprayground and playground equipment in the park, and is also planning ahead for future growth of the installations.
Harper told the board he has settled on Landscape Structures for the playground equipment and installation. Harper explained that the park had already earned an $8,000 piece of playground equipment from the organization, even though they weren’t winners in the Kiwanis playground contest the company was part of. He said the design from the organization, which encompasses a 6,000 square foot playground, is broken down by age groups so that younger children aren’t competing with older children for equipment.
He said he has also priced amenities for the sprayground and expects equipment to cost around $70,000. This cost includes a water manifold with extra units, so the sports park can add additional sprayground features in the future as more funding is available. Harper explained that, by adding a larger manifold at the beginning, the valves to any additional openings can be turned off and the openings plugged until needed, so new water features can be easily added or replaced.
While the park board currently has a $90,000 budget for the sprayground, Harper said installation is expected to cost as much as the equipment. Because of this he was recommending a budget of $150,000 and asking the board for an adjustment to the budget to meet this expected cost.
“I think we can get something more significant, without a more significant cost, on the spraygound,” Harper said.
The park board voted to recommend this budget change to the tourism board, and the tourism board moved later that evening to approve the change.
Harper said the costs may end up being lower, and that he was organizing a meeting between the company and local concrete contractors to see if a local concrete company can meet the sprayground needs. If a local company can do the concrete work it could lower the costs a small amount.
In other action the board heard news about the name of the road as it goes through the park. For purposes of E911 dispatching, the road as it runs through the park will be known as Sports Park Drive.
The board also discussed pricing of facilities rentals for tournaments and events.
Harper told the board he has also received pricing quotes on a fence and front gate for the park.
He said they have also recovered an over payment made to Allard Excavation and that the contractor is coming back to make some fixes to concrete laid at the park that wasn’t expected to meet the park’s needs.
The next meeting of the park board is scheduled for 9 a.m. on February 11 at the IKORCC Union Hall on the Industrial Parkway.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
