The popular playground at Lake Meridian Park in Kent will be closed for about four weeks starting Monday, Aug. 19 for repairs.
“Contractors will be onsite to replace all of the playground surfacing,” according to a Kent Parks Department Facebook post. “Closure will be in effect until the work is completed (approximately four weeks).”
Temporary fencing will be in place throughout the duration of work so that repairs can be made without interruption, according to the Parks Department. The park is at 14800 SE 272nd St.
The City Council approved the $224,538 project in February. The city applied for and received an $100,000 grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office through the Local Parks Maintenance grant program to help pay for the resurfacing project.
The state Recreation and Conservation Office announced in November 2023 the award of $4.7 million for 53 projects through its Local Parks Maintenance grant program. The Legislature created the grant program in 2023 to address maintenance backlogs in local parks.
The grants were between $35,000 and $100,000 and can be used for general maintenance of things such as trails, restrooms, picnic sites, playgrounds, signs and kiosks.
“The playground was installed in 2011 and is one of our most used playgrounds in the park system,” said Bryan Higgins, city parks capital project manager, in his report to the council. “It has heavy use all year.”
Higgins said the rubberized surface, playground artificial grass and Apollo Spinner will be replaced. The Apollo Spinner is a piece of climbing equipment that wore out along with the surface and grass.
The work has to be done during warm temperatures and without rain, Higgins said about the timing of the project.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while work is completed,” according to the Parks Department Facebook post. “We promise that you’ll be back to playing soon!”
Issaquah-based Northwest Playground Equipment Inc. will replace the surface and grass. The city did not have to put the project out to bid because of its contract with the King County Director’s Association, a public agency owned by Washington’s public school districts whose mission is to provide centralized procurement services to member school districts and public agencies that will save them time and money as well as comply with all legal procurement requirements, according to city documents.
The city can purchase equipment and surfacing installation directly from Northwest Playground Equipment. The City Attorney’s Office reviewed cooperative agreement and said no other documents are needed. King County Director’s Association has an agreement with Northwest Playground Equipment to provide the work.
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