MILFORD, Del.- The latest playground project at Memorial Park is almost ready for fun, but construction hit a roadblock due to some safety concerns.
Milford's Parks and Recreation Director, Brad Dennehy, said heavy rain this summer revealed drainage problems.
"There is two issues," Dennehy said. "One is usability of the playground because we don't want it to get flooded out in a big rainstorm."
The second issue being a sharp incline behind a climbing apparatus. Dennehy said it could be a safety hazard for kids.
"I'm always concerned with children's safety, but also liability issues with the city," he said.
Dennehy requested more funding from city council on Monday, with hopes of adjusting the original construction plans.
"I hate to be in front of council asking for money for a change order but I think it is in the benefit of the city for us to do it now."
Dennehy assured that the city's engineers and playground contractors are fully supportive of the proposed changes.
Milford Councilman Todd Culotta tells us the playground is highly anticipated among community members. "That's the big question 'when is it going to open?'" he said.
Culotta believes if the change isn't made now it could lead to bigger, more expensive problems down the road.
"You have to do it right because we don't want to have a reason to come back later and it cost us more or possibly have an accident," he said.
Culotta also said these issues are common during construction and that Parks and Rec could not have anticipated drainage issues before getting to work.
"This is something you just run into it's site specific and it's not really overlooked it's more of an adjustment to site conditions," he said.
In a unanimous decision, Milford City Council approved the funding request on Monday, adding approximately $65,000 to the initial $700,000 project cost. The additional funds will be drawn from Milford's realty transfer tax reserve.
