KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette The playground at Memorial Park in Williamsport, which is bordered by orange safety fencing, on Tuesday.

The plastic orange barricade fence at the accessible children’s playground at Memorial Park will be removed soon and mulch added so the park is safe for children to play at, city officials said.

“I don’t want to wait until we may or may not get a grant,” said Mayor Gabriel J. Campana, who is having city streets and parks department employees make repairs to the play equipment at the site, which has been closed since the start of the year due to unsafe conditions, namely a bottom mat that is torn and unable to be used for all children.

The city has applied for a $250,000 state grant through the Commonwealth Financing Authority that would be used toward payment for an updated accessible playground.

Examples of the possible modern and accessible playground were presented to City Council public works committee.

Adam Winder, general manager of city streets and parks, said he was waiting on verification for the mulch to be spread and for the playground equipment to be either removed or, where possible, repaired by in-house staff.

While the grant application is under consideration, Campana said the park should be reopened for children, especially as weather turns nice and Memorial Day approaches, the unofficial start of summer.

“It is not accessible, but it will be operational,” he said.

Campana said there is a basketball court up at the park with two hoops, backboards and benches provided by donations from local businessmen.

There are also pickleball courts that are in moderate disrepair but playable when weather cooperates, Campana said.

Jason Fitzgerald, president of Penn Strategies Inc., the city economic development consultant, said the firm’s concept is to remove the accessible playground that is a danger and create open green space for the summer, while the grant application is being reviewed.

Fitzgerald said individuals with the Center For Independent Living, many of whom require accessibility, told him they would rather wait for a year and do it right than to put a temporary fix on the issue.