By Lee Weyhrich
PINSON — The Pinson City Council last Thursday voted to amend one of the items for the new city park.
For weeks the city council has debated on what sort of playground flooring would be best at the new park.
The council unanimously voted to change its plans from a loose wood product to a poured-in-place rubber matting material.
While the initial cost of this material is significantly higher, the total cost is only roughly $15,000 more when annual maintenance is taken into account, Councilman Robbie Roberts said.
At a city council meeting last month, the council reported the wood product was estimated to initially cost $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.
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 said at last month’s meeting that she worried 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 a 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.