Commission votes to remove unsafe swings at Woodside Heights and seek capital funding for replacement

Middletons Parks and Recreation Commission voted to remove an unsafe swing set at Woodside Heights Park and directed staff to pursue funding for a future replacement through the citys capital planning process.

Staff reported a CIVMEC inspection found the current swing sets fall zone noncompliant and that belt swings were removed for user safety. "We can't simply replace the belt swings on that swing set because the fall zone is noncompliant," staff said, describing three replacement options provided by the manufacturer including configurations with ADA-accessible swings.

Commissioners said swings are a popular park amenity and discussed options and trade-offs. Staff explained that the park's equipment is slated for full replacement in 2044 under the playground replacement program and that an out-of-cycle replacement would require adding a capital request to the CORP/CIP process. "If swings are the preference of the commission at this park location, then I think to identify that it is a need as the CORP rolls out and to take a look at funding for the 2027 budget," staff said.

A motion that carried directs removal of the current unsafe swing set now and asks staff to include a swing-set replacement in a future capital/budget request; the commission did not select a specific manufacturer option tonight because funding is not identified. Staff noted the replacement will need to address ADA considerations and fall-zone compliance as part of design and budgeting.

Next steps: staff will remove the unsafe belt swings now, confirm estimated costs for preferred options, and pursue adding a swing-set capital request through the CORP/CIP and the 2027 budgeting process.