During the March 27 meeting, The Woodlands Township board of directors approved $504,483 to replace playground equipment at Capstone, Sawmill and Terramont parks.

What you need to know

The playground equipment being replaced includes some equipment over 20 years old within the Grogan’s Mill area, including:

• Capstone Park: 15 years old, $161,975.23
• Sawmill Park: 22 years old, $162,385.21
• Terramont Park: 19 years old, $180,123

The township replaces playground equipment on a 12- to 15-year cycle, Township Parks and Recreation Director John McGowan said during the meeting. However, some of the playground equipment replacement was able to be postponed since it was in decent condition, McGowan said.

McGowan said roughly five playgrounds are cycled each year, and certified inspectors check the status of playgrounds regularly to assess the need for replacement. McGowan said the list is then brought forward during budget hearings to weigh the needs of replacement and refurbishing to determine how much needs to be allocated to cycle the playgrounds.

Quote of note

“We know every playground when it was put in, so we have this list, ... and at budget time we’ll actually request [funding],” McGowan said. “Sometimes it's easy, and then sometimes it’s like last year, for example. There was actually three village parks that needed to be changed over, which is very expensive.”

What’s next?

The new playground equipment will include specialized playgrounds for children ages 2-5 and a playground for children ages 6-12. With the bids awarded at the March 27 meeting, work will begin on replacing the park materials over the summer.