Unfortunately, we continue to wait for the playground repair to be carried out.
Beyond the succession of events (and even more non-events!) that we’ve shared here at the community website and monthly meetings, the only additional news is that the playground equipment vendor was yet again unable to meet the most recent date given for coming to perform the repair due to even more delays in them receiving the necessary parts and materials for the job. The Board shares in your frustration in wanting the park open forthwith, however, every other option we’ve considered brings its own drawbacks as well.
1) Reopening as-is: Would not only be potentially unsafe for our little ones, but would also expose all homeowners to liability and avoidable cost.
2) Replacing the entire structure: Being that the equipment is relatively new at only 5 years old, this was not really in the budget for this year. Keeping in mind that this is considered a public/commercial installation meaning the costs are far higher than residential units. Additionally, based on what we are hearing from our vendor, the delay for a new installation is likely just as bad if not worse than for the few parts/materials holding back our repair.
3) Pursuing a carpenter or handyman to perform the repair: While likely capable of performing the work itself, others outside of the playground equipment industry would not have access to the affected parts either, and more importantly, even if they did, would not be able to provide us with the required safety inspection certification once completed.
4) Pursue another licensed playground equipment vendor to perform the repair: This is the most recent option that we have begun to investigate. Frankly we had not considered this before being that our playground vendor has been nothing short of exemplary up to this current situation, they are highly regarded in their field, and the delays seem to be for reasons outside of their hands. In addition, most vendors do not typically work on equipment of brands other than their own, so we’re not really optimistic that they will be going out of their way to assist us when we didn’t purchase the equipment from them. Regardless, we really can’t know for sure what the response will be unless we ask, and so we have requested our property manager to inquire with other licensed playground equipment vendors to see what else can be done other than waiting.
As of right now, the most recent date provided to receive the much awaited materials is April 11th, with the repair date taking place shortly after. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Cindy Riner or the Board via email at the addresses shown in the info boxes to the left.
Please continue to check in right here at the website for any updates.