The Cosmopolis School District received a state grant to pay for emergency repairs caused when drainage system problems resulted in stability issues for a portion of the elementary school building. The $559,939 grant will pay for the basic repairs, but the school’s beloved “Big Toy” playground equipment is a casualty of the situation and the district is going to the community to raise money to replace it.

“The school staff discovered several voids near the playground area which appear to be caused by a disintegrating drainage system,” according to Superintendent and Principal Cherie Patterson. That caused a portion of the building’s structural system to shift due to soil movement, she said.

Staff noticed around winter break that the ground underneath the playground area seemed, “off,” Patterson said. Brumfield Construction Inc. of Westport was brought in to do demolition work so that engineers could examine the soil and look further into the issue. Patterson says the finding was that the soil is unstable.

The Cosmopolis School District Board of Directors declared an emergency for building repairs and sought the state grant.

Rognlin’s Inc. of Aberdeen has been selected to complete the first phase of the repairs and plans to begin Monday. Phase one will begin with temporary piping so that no further damage is done while construction goes on. This phase is expected to take a few weeks, according to Patterson, and will be followed by phase two which will entail the digging up of playground equipment and permanent replacement of piping.

The Cosmopolis City Council has approved traffic revisions that will help mitigate traffic concerns while construction on the drainage system takes place, Patterson says. The 1400 block of 4th Street will transition to a one-way going north, and an additional pickup-zone will be constructed between 3rd Street and C Street and 4th Street and C Street to make the whole process safer during construction. Patterson says the goal is to keep students safe while at the same time making things easier on parents.

In order to access the drainage system the existing playground equipment must be removed.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to do this while school is in session, but we have indoor recess activities planned and some real active types of things for the kids to do, so they’ll still get the wiggles out,” Patterson said.

While some of the smaller play equipment may be able to be re-installed, the 30-year-old Big Toy does not meet with code requirements and must be replaced. Patterson said no contractor will re-install the wooden structure because of liability reasons.

Replacing the Big Toy playground apparatus is expected to cost $152,000, Patterson said. The district has set up a GoFundMe account to solicit online donations. Grays Harbor Community Foundation and Cosmo Specialty Fibers have already donated $25,000 and $10,000, respectively, leaving $117,000 to meet the goal. The GoFundMe account can be accessed through the Cosmopolis School District website, or by searching “Cosmopolis” at GoFundMe.com.

“Historically, we have funded playground projects because they’re a community resource and open to all individuals within those communities, and we thought this project tied in nicely with our priorities at the foundation,” Eric Potts, Executive Director at the Grays Harbor Community Center, said.

Patterson says the wooden structure is one of the students’ favorite pieces of equipment.

“They like to be able to climb, swing from the monkey bars or slide down the fire pole, they like to play all sorts of creative games that involve the ‘Big Toy.’ It will be very much missed, but we’re hoping to find something with multiple levels and multiple access points,” Patterson continued.

“We all remember when we were children and how much fun it was to look forward to recess and playing on what you wanted to play on,” Patterson said.

Donations can also be sent directly to the school by making checks payable to Cosmopolis Elementary School, with “playground equipment” in the subject line.

She notes that no donation is too small, and is hoping that the community continues to rally around the district and the project.