Concord Community Park is getting a new playground. The Concord City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract to install new playground equipment at the park on Cowell Road. City staff said the playground there was more than 10 years old and had reached the end of its usable life because of frequent use by parkgoers. “Keeping this playground usable has become maintenance intensive because of this use and parts are beginning to fail with higher frequency,” city staff said in a report to the council about the new contract. The City Council approved the contract of about $190,000 for the company PlayCore Wisconsin Inc. to install the playground equipment after the council last month approved the purchase of the equipment itself. The new playground is set to be installed by the end of March 2026.
It’s nice to see public funds being spent on something that will actually do some good for the community, for once.
Except that park isn’t the only community park in Concord, the community park at Highlands park has not had an upgrade for decades and it seems highly suspect that 1 playground cost that much to upgrade. Why not all parks at once? Why just this park…they need to do better this is not even a crumb! Don’t forget to reserve your space for mark’s desaulnier’s weekly TDS rant!
Agreed! Need verification, please.
The story sounds to me like ‘they bought the equipment, based on a prior approval, (cost not given here) … and the (OMG) cost just to install it — by apparently the only people within 2,000 miles who are qualified to do nuts and bolts … is $190,000.00 !
Is that how it is? Even if the $190K is total cost, for something that a local Univ. FDM class could create on a 3-D printer, $19G+++ is a LOT of money to spend on one free neighborhood cat litter-box and kiddie playground…every 10 years.
Anyone else feel like their tax dollars should not go to playgrounds? First playgrounds, then school lunches. what next? “free” daycare????
Precisely. 😉 As it has been
$100,000 to grease the politicians
$90,000 to complete the equipment and installation.
Exactly the price seems really high for 1 upgrade!
Why is public works not performing the installation? Remind me again what it is we pay you for……….
The Concord City Council is constantly complaining that the City of Concord has no money, that the city is facing financial problems, and another permanent sales tax increase measure is likely headed for the ballot.
I have no horse in this race, but I do have a history of enjoying the park. Cowell Park, as it is well known to those of us who grew up here, is a beautiful park with many ammenties, and many memories.
We came here as children when there was an old school metal merry-go-round that my dad would spin around as we yelled, “Faster! Faster!” while we hung on for dear life so we wouldn’t go flying off. And we are still here to tell the tale!
There are most likely many assorted rules and regulations for playgrounds now that require a certain amount of coverage for liability, given the litigious nature of some members of society.
As long as kids are still happy and enjoying the park I grew up with, and the figures are on the up and up, I say good, and thanks for keeping “Cowell Park” a nice place to go.
It makes me very happy to see these playgrounds get updated. They did Brazil Quarry, which is a beautiful little park a lot of people don’t know about. I have an autistic toddler and he loves playgrounds. The one at Cowell is great but the smaller older wooden structure is definitely in need of replacing.
Glad to see our taxpayer dollars going to something that can be enjoyed! Let’s plant some more trees while we’re at it.
The $190,000 price is about average for demo and installation of a playground of this scale. Demo of all existing equipment, removing all existing tanbark, importing new base rock, digging new footings and filling with concrete, and importing new wood fill or PIP…a lot more goes into playground installations than you would think. Especially when you have to pay prevailing wage. Keep in mind there is a competitive bid process – and this was the responsive low bidder. The city can’t back door a job to a preferred company… Some of you must live pretty miserable lives if you feel like tax dollars going to a playground for children is a waste of money. Did none of you enjoy taking your kids to the park when they were growing up??
Well said, thanks for educating.
Let me guess, it was a no-bid contract?