Cleaning costs keep playgrounds off-limits

NORTH COVENTRY » The cost is too much and the benefit too unknown for the township supervisors to hire a company to clean the township’s playgrounds on a weekly basis.

The idea had been that if the playgrounds were cleaned and sanitized by professional cleaners, they could perhaps be opened up to the public amid continued concerns about the coronavirus.

But the supervisors decided at a recent meeting that the cost was too much for a nebulous benefit.

According to the lowest bids the township received, it would cost the township about $800 per week, or $3,500 per month, to have Budget Maintenance come in and clean the playground equipment in the township’s parks, Township Manager Erica Batdorf said.

“We have no budget for it, but that’s the reality of what we’re looking at,” she said.

“And how effective is that cleaning?” asked Supervisors’ Chairman Jim Marks. “Is it good or safe to the end of the day, end of the week?”

“I can’t see spending the money when we have no idea if it is providing protection,” he said.

“I think we should keep the playgrounds closed until the numbers are headed in the right direction,” said Marks. “We have to keep safety as the first priority.”

The four other supervisors agreed.

“That’s an awful lot of money,” said Supervisor Rick Scheler. “As much as

I would like to keep the playgrounds open, I don’t see the money in the budget. We’re already walking a tightrope.”

The playgrounds have been closed since Gov. Wolf ordered all such public facilities closed in March.

Batdorf told the supervisors that calls to the township are not so much complaints as they are inquiries about whether the playgrounds are open.