Legislators - Playground Legislation
THE CITY OF
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City Manager's Office
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
(563) 589-4110 phone
(563) 589-4149 fax
ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org
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March 11, 2005
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VIA E-mail and
1 sl Class Mail
<<Email>>
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Re: SSB 1174 - Playground Legislation
Dea r <<Title>> <<Last>>:
I am writing to encourage you to oppose SSB 1174, which would require any new or
renovated playground on public property to be inspected by the State Health
Department.
The bill, as proposed, would create another set of standards for cities to comply with
when considering these types of public improvements. Included in the proposed
legislation is language that states "the department shall apply requirements deemed to
provide a greater degree of protection when the federal guidelines. . . provide
inadequate protection."
The city of Dubuque has over 41 parks and has plans to construct three parks in FY
2006 and four parks by 2010. The City follows the Handbook for Public Playground
Safety as established by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to insure the
safety of our playgrounds. In addition, included in our FY 2006 budget is funding to
train one of our park maintenance workers to attend training to become a certified
playground installer. To create an additional set of standards and to require the State to
inspect for these standards would create an undue hardship on cities and impact our
ability to maintain and improve our parks.
Service
People
Integrity
Responsibility
lnnovation
Teamwork
I encourage you to oppose SSB 1174. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
MCVM:cms
cc: Mayor Terry Duggan
Dubuque City Council
Susan Judkins, Director of Governmental Affairs, Iowa League of Cities
Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Gil Spence, Leisure Services Manager
The Honorable Mike Connolly
Iowa State Senator
2600 Renaissance Dr #3
Dubuque, IA 52001
The Honorable Pam Jochum
Iowa State Representative
2368 Jackson
Dubuque, IA 52001
The Honorable Steven Lukan
Iowa State Representative
7365 Columbus Street
New Vienna IA 52065
The Honorable Tom Hancock
Iowa State Senator
310 E Main Street
Epworth, lA, 52045
The Honorable Pat Murphy
Iowa State Representative
155 N. Grandview Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
The Honorable Ray Zirkelbach
Iowa State Representative
637 W. First Street
Monticello, IA 52310
The Honorable Roger Stewart
Iowa State Senator
3936317 Avenue
Preston, IA 52069
The Honorable Thomas
Schueller
Iowa State Representative
503 W. Platt Street
Maquoketa, IA 52060