KIRKLAND LAKE - After facing several delays, the playground in Chaput Hughes is set to open next month.
At a June 18 Kirkland Lake council meeting, CAO Alan Smith gave an update about the progress of the playground. He estimates it will be up and running in about three weeks.
According to Smith, equipment for the playground was ordered in September 2023 from Henderson Recreation Equipment Limited.
“During that time, the owner retired and there's been changes to the operations which slowed down things a little bit. The equipment was shipped to the complex on May 17 of this year,” he said.
Henderson Recreation Equipment Limited contracted the installation out to CRCS Recreation, a Greater Sudbury-based company, Smith said. City staff met with the company on Monday (June 17) and provided the company with the necessary information for installation.
Smith said CRCS Recreation will be able to install the equipment in the next couple of weeks with installation taking a total of three days.
According to a report from a September 2023 meeting, the progress of the project was initially delayed because the exact location of the playground wasn’t determined by the end of 2022 due to regional delays attributed to staffing shortages.
SEE: Playground getting closer to being reality in Kirkland Lake community
Locates were requested once again in the spring of 2023 and once they were completed the area was measured and sent to several playground suppliers and installers.
The total projected cost of the project is $43,918, which is $8,300 more than the $35,616 budgeted. The shortfall is being covered by the savings from a lighting project, which was placed in a reserve fund.
A small focus group of parents with young children helped look at different options for the playground.
The option chosen includes a PlayFIT structure (slide, transfer station, steering wheel panel, rudder climber and wave slide), a double ridge rock climber, a free-standing mini airplane panel, free-standing bongo panel and a free-standing chime wave panel.
The town also plans to add picnic tables and benches, however, a fence is not currently being planned for.
