RENSSELAER FALLS – The village has hit a roadblock in securing property for a new playground.

The proposed playground at the 300 block of State Street behind Chapin’s Country Market, 102 Canton St., was set to be purchased by the village for $2,000 in February. However, the sale has not been made due to concerns over former ownership of the land.

The village recently undertook an effort to determine the owner of the land believed to once be owned by David LaBarge. Village officials learned St. Lawrence County owns the property.

“We’ve been kind of going back and forth, until the county did its own search,” Mayor Jeffrey W. Dollinger said Tuesday. “They do indeed own the property.”

Mr. Dollinger said village trustees have been waiting to hear whether the county can sell the property to the village.

At Monday’s village meeting, the board considered purchasing one of two properties that are also available in town. But trustees agreed to hold off on making any further decisions until they hear from the county.

“I think our next move is to wait for the end result,” said Mr. Dollinger. “It’s a ‘hurry up and wait’ kind of situation. We’ve already invested $2,000 in this property. There’s no sense in throwing in the towel early.”

The old wooden playground at 107 State St. was demolished last year over safety concerns. With the help of donations and fundraisers, Playground Committee members have raised over $19,000 for the new equipment.

“We were very eager to purchase the equipment, as it was almost at half price,” said co-committee chair Jolene M. LaSiege. “We got a $30,000 set for about $18,000.”

The equipment, purchased by Florida-based BYO Recreation, will be delivered Friday and stored in the village’s wastewater treatment center until it can be assembled.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Ms. LaSiege. “It’s unfortunate to hear about the land. But the equipment has been purchased. Once the land is finalized, we are going to start a grant-writing process. We are going to continue to add on teeter-totters, a swing set and benches.”

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