The soil at the Twin Lakes Playground site is safe, the City and Borough of Juneau announced Thursday.
After the playground burned down in April, the city cleaned up the site in June to get rid of the remains. After the cleanup process, city engineers tested the soil and test results came back recently, showing that “no further cleaning or removal of the soil is required,” a CBJ press release announced Thursday.
The next step for the playground site is for the city to reseed the area for grass. This will happen in the next few weeks, and once grass is planted the city will remove the fence that currently surrounds the playground site to make the area open to the public.
The city is currently accepting proposals until Aug. 7 for the design of the new playground. The design process is scheduled to start this fall, and will focus on building a safer and more accessible playground. Once the design is completed, the Project Playground Steering Committee will set a fundraising goal.
The city’s insurance is paying for the cleanup and to rebuild the playground in the same fashion as before, but the steering committee is looking to gather funds to improve the playground’s safety and accessibility. Community members have shown no hesitancy in opening their checkbooks since the playground burned down April 24, as the Juneau Community Foundation has raised more than $160,000.
