Area youth assisted as things were getting finished up at the new playground in Berkshire. Provided photo.
The Berkshire Recreation Committee is pleased to announce that after two years of planning, grant writing and hard work, the playground at George M. Smith Park is finally open for business. Or should we say child’s play?
The first stage began with a Design Connect team from Cornell presenting their findings and recommendation a year ago in May. Then the process of finding funding began with George and Nancy Lohmann researching and writing two grant applications.
The Floyd Hooker Foundation awarded the Town with $30,000 and the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation provided the remaining $35,825.
As soon as the second grant check was received in April 2018, KOMPAN was contacted and the playground equipment was ordered. In the meantime, the Highway Department did the initial excavation on the chosen location (the northeast corner) at the George M. Smith Park.
Installation began early July by a subcontractor hired by KOMPAN and was completed on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Volunteers from the town were also engaged in laying the drainage strips and filter fabric and spreading the engineered wood fibers (EWF), which arrived the day before completion.
Town Supervisor Keith Flesher and his son Max helped George Lohmann install the drainage strips and filter fabric on Saturday, July 14. The first half of the wood chips arrived Tuesday morning, the second that afternoon.
Thanks to the generous loan of a backhoe from Scott and Sarah Albrecht and its skillful operation by Skip Hartwig, volunteers were able to finish spreading two large truckloads of EWF by the end of that afternoon.
Adult volunteers included Keith Flesher, George Lohmann, Mike Lohmann, Ed Sherwood, John Stoughton, James Willard and Fraser Williams. The youngest generation also pitched in, including Cooper Davis, Max Flesher, Dellione King, Jed Lyon, Derek Payne, and five-year-old Colton Truesdale.
Subcontractor Jim Smith of JS Construction returned the following day to complete final touches, installing the swings and puzzle.
The playground is now ready, although it was already enjoyed during breaks by the younger volunteers and by a handful of neighborhood children who stopped by as the volunteers were finishing up.
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