OCEAN PINES – The Ocean Pines Association abruptly closed the Manklin Meadows playground last week citing its deteriorating condition.
The playground, located near the south entrance of Ocean Pines, was closed Friday. The move to restrict access to the area came after management was made aware of safety concerns identified in 2014 that had never been addressed.
“There have been no reported injuries on the playground,” said Brett Hill, the association’s acting general manager. “It was closed strictly out of caution so that no one would be at risk.”
The association has been pursuing plans to upgrade the playground, where one can typically find families with young children each weekend, for some time. One of the contractors asked to consider bidding on the work advised officials last week that he’d inspected the playground back in the summer of 2014 and informed management of safety issues that needed to be corrected then. When the contractor visited the site last week, he told officials conditions were significantly worse now and forwarded them his initial 2014 report. He recommended that the playground be closed.
“Based on his site walk, he followed up with an email yesterday afternoon, citing the deteriorating conditions, and provided his original report, with the recommendation that the playground be closed,” stated a news release issued by the association Nov. 4.
Hill, who was elected to serve on the association’s board of directors in August just weeks before being appointed interim general manager, could not say why the safety issues weren’t addressed in 2014.
“Unfortunately, both the board majority and GM are new parties, and do not know the exact circumstances from 2014,” he said.
Hill instructed the association’s public works department to fence off the playground immediately and begin disassembling it.
He said staff had been asked to develop a plan for the replacement of the playground that would meet current safety codes and guidelines.
“Management is currently working through design and engineering of a new structure, to be presented to the board for budget approval in the next few weeks,” Hill said.
Hill said the board of directors had a work session scheduled for Dec. 5 and that the project could be discussed then.
