After nine years of fundraising, Williams-Cone Elementary School in Topsham expects to start construction next month on a new playground.
Principal Randa Rineer said the original “well-loved” wooden structure wasn’t salvageable because it was erected 25-30 years ago and had a lot of wear and tear.
“It has been the Friends of Williams-Cone [parent group] that has been fundraising for nine years now,” Rineer said. “The Playground Committee is a branch that has come together to create the design and install it.”
The lead contractor for the new playground is Mac Hunter, a Williams-Cone parent.
Hunter has already assembled the structure on his property to get a better idea of its layout, school board member Kim Totten said during a recent meeting.
Totten said Hunter salvaged a sentimental piece from the original structure and has repurposed it for the new playground. He will, “bring it back in a new life,” she said. Details of the piece he saved have not been revealed.
The final cost of the project will be determined at a Playground Committee meeting held over Zoom on April 5.
“We do not have an actual dollar amount yet because a lot of what’s happening is being donated, both time and resources. It’s happening pretty quickly because we want to install it over April break,” Rineer said.
The current plan is to start assembling the structure on April 15, hoping to have it ready for the students’ return from spring break, she added.
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