craigdailypress.com

Playground equipment is about more than fun, and summertime for the Moffat County School District is about more than vacation.

Mike Taylor, the director of maintenance for the Moffat County School District, said this summer his crew is just as busy as when school is in session.

This summer, Taylor's crew will be completing some major projects around the district.

Sunset Elementary will be getting some new playground equipment, as well as a bigger play area around it.

Taylor said the old playground equipment wasn't suiting the district's needs, and was donated to a family in Browns Park.

"It wasn't challenging enough for the young students," Taylor said. "[Playground equipment] needs to give the kids more opportunities to develop."

He added that the playground equipment should be mentally challenging, as well as serving to develop the students physical abilities.

Contractors from Playco Recreation put in the new playground Monday and Tuesday.

The Sunset Elementary Parents Advisory Committee raised the money for the new playground.

Taylor said the PAC raised around $20,000 needed for the new equipment.

The lot that the new playground sits on was expanded to allow more space for students to play.

Taylor said another big project for the summer is keeping the school district's lawns looking nice.

He said he likes to have his crews mow twice a week, depending on growing spurts.

"We have 320 acres we need to mow," Taylor said.

The district's maintenance crew also is working on widening the sidewalk in front of the School Administration and Early Childhood Center, 775 Yampa Ave.

Taylor said that in the winter, many parents drop their kids off on Yampa Avenue.

"We are making an effort to have kids get out on the property side [of the street]," Taylor said. "That was so they can avoid opening their doors onto the highway."

The grass between the sidewalk and road was torn up this week in front of the building so maintenance crews can make the sidewalk wider.

Taylor's crew also patch holes in the district's parking lots and re-paint all of the lines in the weeks leading up to the first day of school.