A computer rendering showing the locations of the equipment the new playground for the upper classes of the Barkell Elementary School.

HANCOCK — Among the agenda items of the Hancock School Board regular June meeting on Monday was the bond update, which included the recommendation to approve the bond playground bid through Webuildfun. Webuildfun is a commercial playground supplier for parks, schools, churches, homeowner associations, daycares in West Texas, New Mexico and Michigan.

After considering four different playground designers over the past couple of months, in May, the Parent/Playground Committee selected one designer, Superintendent Steve Patchin told the board. The company offered four different options, and the committee selected option No. 4.

The primary reason was because the components were spread out, Patchin said. The other plans had the various equipment grouped closer together.

“The other ones were kind of together,” Patchin said, “and they thought lots of kids would have problems playing on it together and climbing up and down, but this plan is all spread out, so there’s lots to do.”

Patchin also said at the May meeting that the playground plan calls for wood chips to laid beneath the playground equipment, as that is the best option for Copper Country winters and is more economical.

“Many people go with a cover that’s like a foam rubber-plastic material,” Patchin said. “But because of freezes and thaws, especially with the amount of snow we get, it wears out pretty quickly and it also takes a fair amount of money to maintain.”

On Monday, Patchin told the Gazette on Monday that C.M. Longyear, which owns Northern Hardwoods, donated all the woodchips that will be required for the playgrounds.

“It saves us a lot of money,” he said. “There was like $40,000 earmarked for that, but they were going to bring the chips up from Grand Rapids. But (with Northern Hardwoods), they’re here.”

Patchin said Longyear is donating the required wood chips for both sections of the elementary school playgrounds.

“There is the one section for the older kids,” he explained, “then there’s another section further in for the younger kids.”

Barkell Principal, Dan Vaara, told the board in May that the plan includes open areas for the children to play football and baseball games. There will also be a basketball hoop in the area, so the 5- and 6-year-olds will have something to shoot at.

“The bid came in at $290,000,” Patchin told the board, “and we had budgeted $270,000, but $40,000 was subtracted because of the wood chip donation.”