The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
New playground equipment targeted for the Kingston School Park won approval from the township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission at a special meeting on October 25.
The property is owned by the township, but leased to the YingHua International School.
Work has already begun on the project; Commission chairman Andrew Burian said township officials weren’t initially aware that they had to bring the plans before the Commission for review.
But the township’s designation as a Certified Local Government – a federal program administered through states’ historic preservation offices – requires town governments to appear before their historic preservation commissions when appropriate.
“As soon as we realized we had to, I called you,” Vince Dominach, the township’s economic development officer, said to Burian.
Burian said that a special surface has to be installed on the ground around the playground equipment. The surface is designed to protect children if they fall.
Time is of the essence in the installation, Dominach said.
“If we don’t do it in the next couple of weeks, the material that’s put down won’t be able to be put down till the Spring,” he said. “We have it scheduled for installation two weeks from today.”
The park is currently about 2,750 square feet, Dominach said. He said the work will add about 950 square feet to make room for new swing sets.
In giving their approval of the project, Commissioners also asked that the township approach the Shade Tree Commission to recommend the plantings of more trees around the park.
