CLAREMONT — Until recently, the play equipment at Barnes Park had been in place since 2000 and was on borrowed time.

“The average lifespan of a play structure is 10 to 15 years, if you’re lucky,” Claremont Director of Parks and Recreation Nick Lawrence said.

While city staff had done their best to keep up on repairs, rust and general wear and tear had taken a toll over the decades. City staff were keeping a close eye on the playground to make sure it remained safe for children to continue to use.

“Kids should be able to play and their parents shouldn’t have to worry about them getting hurt or something happening,” Lawrence said.

Meanwhile, the city’s Kiwanis Club was looking to make a difference in the community. Earlier this year, as members reviewed a handful project proposals submitted by groups one stood out: Lawrence’s plan to replace the aging playground at Barnes Park.

“We were looking for something that would impact as many children and families as possible,” outgoing Kiwanis President Suzanne Boyington said in an interview last month.

The Barnes Park playground fit the bill. “It was so easy for us to see that this was such a need,” Boyington said.

The club awarded the recreation department $50,000 for new playground equipment. The Claremont Savings Bank also contributed a $5,000 grant, and the city of Claremont kicked in around $1,000 to cover the $56,000 cost.

During the last few days of September, volunteers gathered at Barnes Park to install the new equipment, which is recommended for children ages 5 to 12. It includes slides, swings and climbing walls. The ground below it is covered with woodchips.

“It’s right in the smack dab middle of the neighborhood on that side of town,” Lawrence said in a phone interview late last month. “Definitely heavily used and extremely needed.”

The playground is now open and an official ribbon cutting is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“There won’t be any safety concerns,” Lawrence said about the playground. “That’s the whole premise of why the project is so important.”

Now, Lawrence is turning his attention to figuring out how to replace two other city playgrounds. The recreation department oversees four playgrounds. The playground at Monadnock Park was replaced in 2018, he said. Now that the Barnes Park playground has been upgraded, two more remain: Veterans Park and Moody Park.

“We will actively continue to find funding wherever we can and hopefully get the next ones done as soon as possible,” he said.

Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.