Strasburg to buy new swingset equipment for town park
Below is an article that appeared in the Northern Virginia Daily on March 2nd, 2021.
STRASBURG – The Town of Strasburg is moving forward with procuring new playground swings for the town park as part of six items to be worked on this year from the town’s Master Parks Plan.
The update came at the Recreation, Parks and Trails council committee meeting on Feb. 18. The committee consists of and was attend by Vice Mayor Ken Cherrix, who is the chairman, and council members Dane Hooser, Christie Monahan and Doreen Ricard.
“You’re free and clear to go ahead the path you’re on with the swingsets,” Cherrix said during the meeting.
Four new 8-foot tall metal swing structures with two swings each were proposed to replace the current 15-foot-tall wooden A-frame swings that the legs sometimes lift off from the ground while being used, Town Park and Pool Manager Danni Leigh said.
A Volito platform swing was proposed to replace or be added to the tire swing. A “freedom swing” that is engineered to be Americans with Disability Act compliant and a “connection swing” that cradles two people who can face each other in its seat are also being considered.
Rotating the smaller swing set so that area is more ADA compliant is also part of the plan.
Slowing down and thinking about the changes more was initially requested by Cherrix during the meeting. But Community Development Director Michelle Bixler said making these kinds of improvements was already approved by the council with the plan, which was done in 2020. She did note the plan can be changed as desired.
No final decisions on the procurement have been made, Leigh said. The town hopes to have the new swingsets installed by July 1, Bixler said.
The $30,000 to $50,000 for the new swingsets is already built into the budget, and Leigh was running into a timing issue to expend those funds before June 30, the committee discussed. The committee discussed installing a rubber ground, similar to what is in Woodstock, but the total construction costs of doing that are too much for the committee to decide to do at this moment.
Other projects to be worked on this year as part of the plan include planting a riparian buffer strip along the North Fork river, town park draining ditches and Town Run between Strasburg Square and Town, and planting shade trees along the river walk. The cost is partially grant-funded at $6,200 and matched with $4,000 of town resources, Bixler explained outside of the meeting.
Other projects for this year include adding an automatic external defibrillator to the Town Park at about $3,000 to $5,000, dechlorinating pool water before releasing it to the drainage ditch; painting ADA parking spots and Park Road crosswalks, creatively, at $7,500; work on the dog parks signs, fences and gates at an allowance of $1,500.
Cherrix noted it was difficult for larger vehicles to park at the park. Bixler stated there are plans further down the road in the Master Parks Plan, which prioritizes projects across several years, to add parking near the baseball fields.
The committee also discussed projects that are being proposed to occur with next year’s fiscal budget. They include providing an ADA route between the playground and parking lot, the parking lot and the pool and the baseball fields and parking, and doing the same at the visitor center between it and the parking lot. This is estimated at a cost of $40 per square yard depending on the surface material used.
Also, adding a stripe at the Town Park for both tennis and pickleball courts when they are repainted at a cost of $550 to $1,500 per court; installing and maintaining pedestrian lights for Strasburg Square and Town Run Greenway at a cost of $4,500 to $8,500; planting shade trees at the playground, pool and between the baseball fields at a cost of $1,500 were included with those project proposals for next year.
Outside of the master parks plan, the committee discussed applying for an up to $100,000 grant from DuPont that the company is offering to improve river conditions. The funds would go toward creating an additional soft landing for boats and an additional access point at the river for swimmers, fishers and others and additional signage. With the timing of when the funds would come in, the work likely wouldn’t be done until next summer.
Providing a second water access point in Town Park, additional river access points with grants and improving parking at the boat landing are among items expected to be addressed as part next year’s projects under the Master Parks Plan.
A technical advisory team is needed for the grant and that was proposed to consist of town staff, the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation, Friends of the North Fork, and the Soil and Water Conservation District, Shenandoah County.
The committee also discussed not changing the metal detecting policy and leaving any requests to go into gated areas, for example, addressed as they arise. They also discussed leaving the park open at night, with previous issues of people finishing recreating in the river after dark and finding themselves locked in. Police patrol the park at night time, regardless of the hours.
Contact Charles Paullin at cpaullin@nvdaily.com
