Speaking for the 19-member Hildreth Elementary School (HES) Playground Committee, Mary Traphagen asked the School Committee at its June 28 meeting to approve the proposed location for the new play area—right where the current playground now stands. The School Committee voted unanimously in favor of the proposal. According to a timeline developed by the committee, full-scale construction will begin in July 2011.

Traphagen explained that the committee had discussed a variety of sites, including the current sports fields next to the school, the land behind the Bromfield House administrative offices, an area now used for parking, and a woodland site. However, factors such as current usage, cost, safety, accessibility, wetlands, or the new sewer eventually ruled out each of those locations. “We kept coming back to the current site,” she said.

Although the general location will be the same, the new play area will be larger. Chief of Police Edward Denmark and Fire Chief Robert Mignard assured the Playground Committee that a paved area long considered access for emergency vehicles is not, in fact, useful for that purpose. So the area, which is between the current playground and the school building, can be incorporated into the new playground design. In addition, better grading will allow the children to use some land that is now vacant.

The existing play area is about 4,600 square feet, according to Playground Committee member Deb Barton. The new area will be roughly $6,200 square feet.

Improving the safety of the play space was a major consideration for the committee, Traphagen reported. To separate the playground from vehicles, the committee recommends rebuilt retaining walls and a four-foot high fence on three sides of the play area. Work on the retaining walls will begin this summer. While trucks will still have to pull up to the back of the school next to the playground to make deliveries for the cafeteria, drivers will first have to stop and open a new gate across the drive.

Among the reasons cited for replacing the current playground were its age—it is 22 years old, and the play structure is at the end of its lifespan. Moreover, the play structure and access to the area do not comply with the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

At present, kindergarteners and pre-K children do not have any suitable structures for climbing, sliding, and swinging. In the new playground, these youngest groups will have a separate, gated area for their own use.

With the School Committee’s approval, the Playground Committee can now proceed to the next stages of planning. Traphagen explained that the committee wants an architect to look at engineering and feasibility. They have begun discussions with possible vendors for the play structure.

Fundraising for the project will begin this summer. Traphagen reported that indicators for private donations were very positive, and the committee hopes for support from a range of local organizations and individuals.

Several people mentioned $130,000 as the overall cost estimate, but School Committee Chairman Keith Cheveralls reminded everyone that that number was merely a ballpark figure with no real analysis behind it. He noted that half the amount—$65,000—had been inserted as a placeholder in the capital campaign budget. School Committee member Piali De recalled that the Devens contract includes $20,000 for HES infrastructure, which might be a source of funds for the project. “I’d rather do the playground than boilers,” she joked.

Asked about the fate of the existing structure, Traphagen said that the committee has found a recycling contractor who will take it away for less than anyone else would.

After the vote approving the location, Cheveralls asked the Playground Committee to further develop their financial proposals and come back to the School Committee with an update in the fall.