Bid approved for new Early Childhood playground equipment

Early childhood students at Poplar Bluff will have new equipment to play on next school year.

The Poplar Bluff R-I school board approved a $104,000 bid for a new playground for the Early Childhood Center, which is moving to a new facility off Kanell Boulevard for the 2020-21 school year. The district is expected to receive financial assistance for the program, which will bring the cost down a significant amount.

All Inclusive Rec LLC out of Farmington, the approved bid, presented a plan for a 50-feet-by-30-feet structure, which will be completely accessible based on Americans with Disability Act guidelines. The structure will have a capacity of 48, but with the additional pieces around the main structure it will be closer to 65.

The equipment includes stepping stones, a music area, Calvin the caterpillar play area, a gator walk structure and Harry the hippo.

In addition to the new playground equipment, the board has approved for some of the pieces currently at the Early Childhood Center on Main Street to be moved to the new location. For instance, the current infinite cycle will be reinstalled. The current swing set will also be moved and reinstalled.

Dr. Amy Jackson, assistant superintendent of finances, said the current equipment was installed by All Inclusive Rec and will be able to move it now. Additionally, if any pieces of the old equipment need replaced during the moving process, that can be done.

The bid also includes 4,100 square feet of fall protection matting that will go under the entire playground. The current playground has pea gravel under it, which has caused some concern about safety for some of the younger students, which is why rubber matting is being considered.

Jackson said the All Inclusive Rec bid was better than another bid received from S. Bollinger and Associates LLC out of Hillsboro because it was a larger play structure that she called “more state of the art,” it’s entirely ADA compliant whereas the other bid was only partially, and it has more elements besides the main play structure.

The matting is considered softer and less likely to cause skinned knees if a student falls or trips during recess.

The district has received a grant to help cover part of the cost of the matting.

Jackson said the grant, through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), will cover about 1,700 square feet of the matting and therefore bring the cost of the matting down from $41,377.85 to $14,404.85.

The bid did not include a concrete sub-base to go under the matting, which will go out to bid now or the additional covered concrete area.

This area would be a 20-feet-by-30-feet pavilion with a concrete base. Jackson said the cost of this area will be around $9,000 and it’s something the district will be able to do on its own for less than it would cost to go through a vendor.

The original bid that’s been approved put a cost estimate of $104,604. However, Jackson said, some of the cost will come out of grants.

Along with the DNR grant, the district will receive funding through Title V.B. for the cost of new equipment and installation, fall protection matting and the shade structure. Jackson said this is anticipated to be between $90,000-$100,000.

With this, Jackson said, in total the playground will cost the district around $65,000. This is still within the projected budget for the overall project.