VOORHEESVILLE – Just a week ago, organizers had to cancel a planned community build of the new playground at Voorheesville Elementary School after the project had yet to be approved by the New York State Education Department.

This week, patience was rewarded when the education department approved the playground’s final plans.

The rescheduled community build days will be June 15, 16, and 17.

A playground committee had raised close to a quarter-of-a-million dollars for the project and the school district has already removed the old playground, built 25 years ago by community volunteers at the elementary school.

A number of factors led to the delay and to the cancellation of a community build that would have taken place this week.

The playground’s vendor, Park Street Playgrounds, of North Reading, Massachusetts, was not a state-approved vendor, which slowed down the procurement process.

The construction plan for the concrete footing of the playground that was provided by Park Street Playgrounds to Voorheesville and was to be sent to the state did not have an engineer’s stamp – a stamp is an indication that everything in the plans and specifications are correct, coordinated, and appropriate for the project. Without that stamp, the district had to hire another engineer to create and stamp a plan for the footing.

A planned stage and surrounding benches were found to not be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilites Act, and were eliminated.

And, an environmental impact review needed to be completed and signed off on by the board of education.