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Highlands Today

Bids opened for Mary Toney Park equipment

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: November 2, 2009

SEBRING - Requests for proposals have come back on new playground equipment for Mary Toney Park, and Sebring Public Works Director Rob Miller said Friday that he is ready to recommend his choice to the city council.

Miller said he wants to go with a bid from Play-it-Safe Enterprises Inc., located in Jupiter, for $15,970, which includes $12,793 for equipment and another $3,244 for installation.

That's about how much he had budgeted.

Miller went to the Kindergarten Learning Center on Friday morning where he met with Shawn Stamps, facilities manager for Highlands County public schools.

Miller said he examined the quality of playground equipment there from Play-it-Safe, which was one of 11 companies that submitted proposals.

"They've got a $50,000 unit there," said Miller referring to the learning center. "It's about 3 years old and it's held up great, so that's the system we want to go with.

"Now I have to explain to the council why we chose this one."

Play-It-Safe was not the lowest bidder, but Miller felt it provided the best value.

With the heavy use the playground equipment at the learning center gets from more than 300 children there each day, Miller said he was impressed.

Miller said the $16,000 purchase will provide a couple of slides, a crawl tunnel with more slides at the end, a spider web bar and a ladder bar.

"I'd like to see it started by the first of the year," he said. "I'll present it to the council in two weeks on the next agenda. The longest part of the process is the wait for the delivery of the parts."

That generally takes about four weeks, he said.

"It would make a great Christmas present for the neighborhood kids," he said.

Miller was assured by the distributer that the equipment will be portable to a new location should a new park be constructed along Martin Luther King Boulevard, as part of the Washington Heights Neighborhood Plan.

Highlands Today reporter Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com .

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