Lincoln School Committee backs removal of aging Stratton playground

LINCOLN — May 22, 2014 — Lincoln School Committee backs removal of aging Stratton playground behind Hartwell. Parks official Dan Pereira told the committee Thursday that a certified safety inspector who visited in April concluded the 1989 Leathers-style wooden structure has reached end of life and cannot be brought back into code compliance. Removal was ballparked at $10,000 to $12,000 by a local excavator, with a replacement potentially around $130,000, likely funded through the Community Preservation Act. Lincoln is "one of three remaining" communities in Massachusetts with that playground style, Pereira said. Assistant Superintendent Mary Sterling said staff have been walking out to ask trespassing children to leave the fenced site: "Because it's a safety issue, we have an obligation to do that." Chair Tim Christenfeld pledged full school committee support; original project driver Peter von Mertens has agreed to help plan the next phase.