Parks expecting new playground equipment

Ocean Township officials say renovations will be finished by spring

BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Two township parks will be revamped with new playground equipment, hopefully by the spring, according to the township’s recreation administrator.

“Over the years standards change [for playground equipment],” Kathy Reiser said. “What was appropriate 10 years ago is no longer appropriate.”

The playground equipment in Dave Dahrouge Park, on the corner of Park Boulevard and Logan Road, is 13 years old, and Reiser said it’s time for the equipment to be replaced.

She said playground equipment also will be installed at the Billy Goat Farm on West Park Avenue, which is the future site of a township-owned recreation area.

“It [the new equipment] is going to be great,” she said. “It’s nice that the mayor [William Larkin] and the council pay attention to safety standards.”

Two resolutions were approved at the Township Council meeting on Oct. 6 authorizing the Recreation Department to order the equipment, and Reiser said she is currently in the process of doing that.

The equipment for Dave Dahrouge Park will cost $30,205 and will be built on a 60-by-127 foot area. The existing equipment will be demolished by the Recreation Department.

A large modular unit will be installed with multi-components for both tots, ages 2 to 5 years old, and older children, ages 5 through 12. The unit will have slides, a rock wall, suspension bridges, overhead climbers and decks that range from 2.5 feet high to eight feet high, according to Reiser.

The park also will get two swing sets — one with two bucket seats for tots and another with four seats for older children.

The Billy Goat Farm is a 9-acre property purchased by the township in 1996 for $350,000 with a Green Acres grant. It is the future location of a football field, a gymnasium, an all- purpose field and a playground area.

Playground equipment for the new park will cost $22,064 and will be built on an area about 35 by 100 feet.

The equipment will be geared toward younger children and tots, Township Manager David Kochel said.

“When someone’s child is at practice at the new fields, the younger children will have a place to go,” Kochel explained. “That is the main purpose of the construction.”

A modular unit with multi-pieces including slides and climbing equipment will be installed along with a dinosaur slide and decks that range from 2.5 feet to 6 feet high.

“Billy Goat Farm is going to be a wonderful facility,” Reiser said.

Funding for the equipment will come from a capital project bond, Kochel said.

Reiser said construction will begin when the equipment arrives. For Billy Goat Farm, it will depend on when the underground irrigation is complete. She is anticipating the parks will be finished by the spring.