Parks and rec recommends acquiring ECC playground

A beloved playground which could potentially be demolished, inspiring local community interest, could be acquired by Creston, even while the Creston Community School District opened bids for the rest of the former Early Childhood Center.

The Creston parks and recreation board will recommend the city acquires the ECC playground. This comes after a discussion last month where worries about liability and regular maintenance made the board hesitate on an official recommendation.

CCSD Superintendent Deron Stender met with parks and rec during their monthly meeting to discuss the possibility of city acquisition of the playground. Bids are open for the playground itself, due Jan. 14.

The district’s concern with keeping the playground in place is an issue in liability. If the playground remains with the school as the property owner, complaints come to the school primarily. If there’s no oversight following the demolition or acquisition of the rest of the former ECC property, the school could face trouble.

“If we demo that [ECC] building and we don’t have any community interest in taking over that playground — and we can just as well demo it during that time — it becomes a nuisance for the district to maintain," Stender said. “All the phone calls come to us if something happens on that playground.”

To avoid this, the district has been looking for a way to break off the playground to a new property owner, with Stender having conversations with City Administrator Mike Taylor to have the city of Creston acquire the playground.

Stender reported vandalism at the vacant ECC building and the nearby bus barn. He anticipates if vandalism were to continue and without community ownership, the playground will need to be demolished.

“It’s not what we want,” Stender said. “This is my thinking, and it’s kind of just being preventative to the school board on what type of liability do you want to continue to have on a playground we have no stake in.”

Moving the playground was not an option for the school, with Stender citing the concrete foundation’s removal as the reason. Taking the playground equipment out of the concrete runs the risk of damaging the equipment, creating further safety issues.

Working with the community is still the first option for the school district. Stender said the playground is the best in Creston and the school district. Parks and Recreation board member John Kawa said the playground surface is the best he’s ever seen.

Members of the parks and recreation board noted the community volunteers who unofficially help with playground maintenance, mostly picking up trash. A Facebook group of local mothers who help organize and discuss playground activity was also mentioned.

When discussing the possibility of shared ownership of the playground between Creston and the school district, Stender suggested both entities set aside $1,000 for a park maintenance endowment fund on an annual basis.

While this fund will likely not be used until much later, preparing for eventual expenses in park maintenance through the fund could be feasible.

Demolition of any former ECC building is considered a last resort for the district; opening bids for the pieces will allow for the district to keep the building and property available for community involvement.

The parks and recreation board is supportive of acquiring the playground, but the onus of the decision now rests on the Creston City Council now that the parks board submitted their recommendation. They will discuss the topic tonight during their meeting tonight.