ELLENVILLE – Despite the fact that most of the new Ellenville playground at Berme Road Park is constructed and painted, there are still a few details here and there that have kept it from being officially opened — which has caused something of a headache for village officials.

"There are kids down there all the time, and that's an issue," says Village Manager Mary Sheeley of the site. "If it's not ready, if it's not done, it becomes a liability issue. No one's trying to be mean over this thing, but you have to secure it until it's ready to go." Until Tuesday, the playground site had caution tape around it, but nothing to prevent kids from playing on the incomplete structure. To remedy this, village workers surrounded the playground site with orange fencing in order to keep kids out.

Making matters worse, while moving mulch this past Sunday, a backhoe that was borrowed from the village street department suffered damage estimated at $3,000. Apparently, mulch clogged the equipment, damaging the backhoe's cooling assembly, thermostat, and radiator. According to Sheeley, the Playground Committee will be billed for the repairs as soon as the final costs are tallied, in accordance with their policy to return all borrowed tools to their owners in their original condition.

The street department head, Juan Caba, says that the loss of the backhoe hasn't impacted the department's ability to do its job just yet.

"Right now we're tied up doing a drain line on Circle Avenue, so at this moment, we'd just use it to move the stone around, so we're just using the loader for now until we get that fixed," he says.

Finally, there are still some components and pieces missing from the playground site, such as swings for handicapped children which are still on order. The Playground Committee's spokesperson, Karri Scott-DiFazio, hopes that things will be put into place by this weekend, and met with representatives from Eastern Correctional to see if the prison's work crews can contribute to finishing up the playground.

Until it's finished, however, the village is still grappling with how best to keep the site in order.

"The bottom line is that it is on village land, and it has to get done," says Sheeley. "The street department is saying that they can't get on there to mow, because there's sticks and lumber and rocks, so we have this beautiful looking area now, and it's un-mowed.

"It was supposed to be done two months ago, and the rain and everything else didn't cooperate, but it's time it has to get done."