WILLMAR - The Willmar City Council has ordered the removal of some city park playground equipment after an inspection report rated 19 percent of the 230 playground units in 28 parks as safety hazards.
According to the report, the hazards may result in permanent disability, loss of life or body part. Public Works Department employees on Wednesday began removing the units that do not comply with current safety standards. The council ordered the removal after receiving the inspection report Tuesday night from Justin DeLeeuw, a 10-year Public Works employee who is the department’s certified playground safety inspector.
Public Works Superintendent Scott Ledeboer said Thursday the process was going quite quickly with the removal of small, noncompliant spring animals, which the report rated as the most dangerous. Removal of larger noncompliant units, which the report also said are dangerous, will take longer, according to Ledeboer.
DeLeeuw said he and Rob Baumgarn of the Community Education and Recreation Department received inspection training in March using the 2011 National Parks and Recreation Association safety standards.
All playground equipment was inspected this past summer and each piece of equipment was given a priority rating of 1 through 5. Each rating was given through a combination of the inspector’s opinion and the use of a National Recreation and Park Association testing kit.
The kit contains a probe designed to simulate the size of a child’s head, a torso probe, an opening probe, protrusion gauges to measure unsafe bolts, handlebars and foot rests, and three different sized dowels to test crush and shear points on various equipment.
The dimensions and measurements of the kit’s instruments are determined using data from the American Society for Testing and Materials International and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, DeLeeuw said.
No. 1 means the equipment needs immediate removal or replacement.
Rating No. 2 means the equipment has major issues which should be addressed in a timely manner. No. 3 means the pieces have minor things which should be fixed. No. 4 indicates very minor issues. No. 5 represents no issues.
The 33-page report said 43 units are priority No. 1. The report also said 22 units are rated priority No. 2; 50 units are rated priority No. 3; 60 units are rated priority No. 4; and 55 units are rated priority No. 5.
“You’re just under 30 percent as far as priorities 1 and 2, the major hazards,’’ DeLeeuw told the council. “But on the plus side, we have 50 percent of ours that are either 4 or 5, so there is some positive.’’
Most playground equipment has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years, and the report said roughly 85 percent of Willmar’s playground equipment is 20 years or older. With the current standards last updated in October 2011, it’s understandable why the number of noncompliant hazards is so high, the report said.
The report said Jaycee, Canigo and Hanson are three parks that rated 4 or 5, which is not surprising as they were all recently revamped or received new equipment. Conversely, parks such as Northside, Cardinal and Gesch have not had equipment replaced in quite some time and are rated lower, the report said.
The purpose of the report is not to create panic, but rather to raise awareness about the current condition of the playgrounds throughout the city.
“Eliminating every risk is an impossible task,’’ the report said. “But making every effort to minimize safety concerns is a goal desired by all.’’
Besides ordering the most dangerous equipment be removed immediately, the council directed staff to review equipment that received a No. 2 rating and return to the council with a recommended action.
