Township and school officials have met to discuss the status of the closed playgrounds and next steps
HAMILTON -- This summer, Hamilton was named a Playful City USA for the seventh straight year. But that title has been thrown into doubt by some residents after safety concerns prompted the school district to shut down most of its playgrounds and others have found the township parks to be in less than pristine condition.
Earlier this year, the playgrounds at the 17 elementary schools were inspected by an outside firm. After the first report on Klockner Elementary School found hazardous conditions, a decision was made by the district and school board to close the remaining playgrounds of similar age and condition.
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The new playgrounds installed at University Heights and Wilson elementary schools last summer are open, but the 15 others will remain closed until they are deemed safe by the report or repairs are made to bring them back into compliance.
Interim Superintendent Thomas Ficarra said he is expecting the rest of the reports by the end of the month. In the meantime, the district has begun getting cost estimates to repair or replace the equipment and resurface the playgrounds.
"We will continue to do this for each report issued and evaluate at each site the cost of repairs in relation to the age, condition of equipment, useful life and ADA compliance ... to determine the final action plan," he wrote in a letter to parents.
Any playgrounds that can be opened with minor repairs will receive top priority, he said.
On Monday, township and school officials met to discuss the status and next steps.
Mayor Kelly Yaede said that the township would continue to support the district in any way it can by supplying mulch at a reduced cost and if necessary, manpower and special equipment.
"I am confident the township and Board of Education can continue to work collaboratively and solve these issues together," Ficarra wrote in the letter.
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But the lack of playgrounds has become a source of frustration for kids and parents.
"The playgrounds are a symbol of what a mess our district may be in -- if this cannot even be done right and this is visible for everyone to see," resident Lisa Linkowsky said.
She questioned how they managed to reach this point.
"The township was doing inspections all these years and they're woefully in bad shape," she said. "And now who's going to pay for it? Who's going to take care of it?"
Responsibility for the school playgrounds now rests with the district, but for years, the township had inspected and maintained them.
After receiving a letter from the district's insurance provider, school and township officials met in March 2013 and mutually agreed that the district would maintain the equipment.
Yaede said though a formal agreement is still awaiting the approval of the school board, it's clear that the district has taken them over given that it hired its own inspector and authorized repairs to be made.
In August and September of last year, the township completed a final round of inspections on the school playgrounds to help with the transition, Yaede said.
She said mulch was added and some minor repairs were done, but recommendations to replace some equipment was forwarded onto the district.
"That would've been up to them," township business administrator John Ricci said. "We don't know if that was ever done or not."
But Linkowsky contends that the issues at the schools didn't appear overnight and now worries about whether the municipal playgrounds are safe to play on.
"The same inspectors were looking at all of them and not doing a good job," she said.
Residents have posted photos of township parks in Facebook groups, pointing to rusted equipment, exposed sharp metal edges, graffiti and an inadequate amount of mulch to cushion falls.
But Yaede insisted that "the Hamilton Township playgrounds are open and safe."
She noted that the playgrounds are inspected biannually and should residents have any concerns, they can call the township's HAMSTAT call center at 609-586-0311 to report conditions.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.