Bel Air staff say Plum Tree Park playground resurfacing will use engineered wood fiber; vendor pricing under review

Bel Air — The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners on May 27 heard an update on a resurfacing contract for the smaller playground at Plum Tree Park: staff said the town is pursuing a piggyback on an existing contract and plans to use engineered wood fiber (mulch) rather than a rubberized surface.

Kevin (Public Works) told commissioners the vendor was updating required contract details and that staff expect the pricing verification to be completed this week so the item can return to the board for approval. “We were waiting on some changes that need to be made by the vendor. The those changes were are basically we're operating under a piggyback on an existing contract, and we wanted to make sure that the prices that we were being given could be we could check those prices against the existing contract that we're piggybacking on,” he said.

On the surface material, Kevin said the town intends to use engineered wood fiber as the playground surface. “It should last longer. It's, considered handicapped accessible, although I kind of have my doubts, but they're by regulatory means, they are,” Kevin said. Commissioners asked whether the surface was the rubberized surface or mulch; staff confirmed mulch (engineered wood fiber).

Why it matters: the choice of surfacing affects long-term maintenance, accessibility standards and cost. Staff described the material as engineered wood fiber and noted they were confirming contract pricing before bringing a final contract to the board.

Next steps: staff will finalize price verification against the piggyback contract and return a contract package to the board for approval when vendor changes and pricing are confirmed.