Brighton's Imagination Station Will Remain Closed Until Spring

The Brighton City Council voted Thursday night to keep the Imagination Station playground closed until the Spring of 2012 in order to stay within the guidelines of the city charter and to avoid legal liability.

After council members spent several hours discussing options to eliminate found in and around the structure, City Attorney Paul Burns pointed out that the city charter requires that the city manager let the project out to bid, versus issuing an emergency contract to have the play structure repaired immediately, as planned.

A bidding process would take until mid-October, according to Department of Public Service Director Matt Shindewolf. He said that even if the city went through the bidding process to decide on a contractor, by the time the work would be ready to start, it would be too cold for the structure’s wood to be effectively resealed and the work would have to wait until spring.

Many of the council members spoke to the importance of the playground as a staple to downtown businesses, though the city charter, drafted in 1955, kept the council’s hands tied as far as a quick-fix goes.

“If they’re not playing here, they’re going to go to another community,” Councilmember Chad Cooper, said.

In August, by City Manager Dana Foster after levels of arsenic higher than the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) residential standards were found in the wood and surrounding mulch and soil.

While arsenic levels are higher than DEQ residential standards, exposure to the structure or the surrounding soil and mulch , said City Engineer Gary Markstrom.

Foster shut down the playground on Aug. 10 and began having samples taken and analyzed to determine the arsenic levels in the structure, mulch and soil.  

Since the structure’s closure, Foster has spent an initial $9,144.02 for the lab analysis of the samples taken, as well as the engineering and consulting needed to start fixing the problem. Foster’s projection for total cost of a completely repaired and resealed structure was approximately $95,000, though future maintenance costs also need to be taken into account.

After the city lawyer's comments, it was moved by Councilmember Jim Muzzin and passed by the council to keep the playground closed for now and to install a more permanent fence to keep people away from the structure.  A sign will also be installed that will read, “Closed until Spring 2012”.

Other scenarios were discussed as well, such as tearing the structure down completely and leveling the land. This scenario could call for the removal of hazardous materials, depending on additional samples that would need to be taken, which could cost the city upwards of $140,000, according to Markstrom.

The details of the strategy that will be used to either fix or demolish the structure remain unknown and will likely be developed in the upcoming months.