By Lee Weyhrich
PINSON — The Pinson City Council is still discussing options for ground cover in the future Pinson city park playground areas.
Questions arose during the last council meeting regarding the loose wooden material found in the original park plan.
There is a “significant cost difference between the wood carpet and the other items,” Mayor Hoyt Sanders said. “This is not just ordinary mulch that you would get from a pulp yard, this is treated product designed for (playground cover).”
The wood product is estimated to cost, initially, $4,400 with an additional $13,200 in maintenance over the course of a 12-year period. At the other end of the cost spectrum, poured-in-place rubber matting will initially cost $39,600 with $24,200 in upkeep over the next 12 years.
This graphic shows the particulars of the park.
file photo
Bonded rubber and rubber tiles would each cost $22,000 initially with $22,000 and $17,600 in maintenance costs, respectively.
While costs will be much lower on the wood product, the wood material would require more regular maintenance than the other two to remain compliant under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Councilwoman Dawn Tanner worries that maintenance will only be one of the issues with the wood carpet.
“I personally would not prefer ‘loose’ anything,” Tanner said. “I think it’s a mess, I don’t think it looks good and I’m not sold on it.”
Some of the issues brought up over loose material at the previous meeting were its migratory nature, its ability to be thrown and the possibility that either of these two issues might cause problems with the nearby splash pad.
The council will further discuss the issue at a future meeting.
