The Harrison Township Committee provided residents with an update on improvements to recreational areas in Mullica Hill during its Oct. 7 meeting.
The improvements include the addition of a handicapped accessible playground at Ella Harris Park. Funding for the plans – through a grant the township received last year – were discussed during the engineer’s report section of the meetig.
“You can do one of two things,” said Township Engineer Dennis McNulty. “You can either install the equipment now, and you can get the total amount paid in full, or if you don’t want to worry about fencing for the winter, you can go (online) and click for an extension.”
“What he’s (McNulty) speaking of is the grant we got for the inclusionary playground here in Ella Harris Park,” explained Township Administrator Dennis Chambers. “The equipment has all been ordered. Once we were afraid that we were going to run into an issue with the temperatures for the safe surfacing that we would install.”
In order for the playground surface to be installed correctly, he added, it must be done at an ideal temperature and weather. The lower temperatures of fall and winter are not ideal for that.
The equipment has yet to arrive. The township can wait until it does, which means the (playground) area in the park would have to be fenced off for the winter. Or when the equipment does arrive, the township can wait until spring arrives. According to Chambers, outside temperatures for the rubber-safe surfacing need to be 50 degrees and below in order to be installed and not fade immediately.
That would mean filing for another extension; the current one is active until Dec. 31. Chambers suggested the township hold off building the playground until spring. Funding is also coming from proceeds of the township recreation commission’s Trick or Trot 5K.
“It’s probably best to try and do that if we can file for the extension,” he noted. “Because even if we put fencing up, unless we put a legit fence up, people will try to climb over it and play on it, and kids would be up there. So it’s probably the safest thing to do.”
The committee will wait to make a decision until its next meeting on Monday at 7 p.m.
