POLAND — Selectmen on Tuesday tabled action on a request to reallocate money earmarked for a public address system at the Poland Community School and spend it on repairs to damaged playground equipment.

School Principal Rick Benoit told the board that the condition of some of the equipment, including a slide, had deteriorated to the point of raising safety concerns. He estimated the cost to repair/replace the equipment would be about $13,000.

Selectmen had approved using $8,000 from funds returned to the town from school accounts held over from before Poland joined RSU 16 for a new public address system in the gymnasium.

“I had figured the equipment was still under warranty, but found it wasn’t,” Benoit said.

He said he had already approached the Poland PTA for funds to make up the $5,000 difference between the amount that could be shifted from the public address system and what it would take to put the playground equipment in proper order.

Selectman James Walker Jr. pointed out that the board had designated the funds for the public address system because it felt the expenditure could be justified as potentially benefiting the town if it were used for public, non-school-related events.

“Otherwise the RSU should take care of its own property,” Walker said.

The board, acknowledging that the safety issue made the playground equipment repair a higher priority, supported Selectman Steve Robinson’s suggestion that the $8,000 be used to repair the equipment, provided RSU 16 commit to including the purchase of the public address system in its next budget.

School Committee member Mary Ella Jones said she would make sure the matter was on the agenda for the Feb. 10 meeting.

Selectmen agreed to discus the matter further at its Feb. 18 meeting, by which time it hoped it might have a communication from Superintendent Tina Meserve in support of a swap.

In other business, selectmen met with Code Enforcement Officer Nick Adams to discuss taking action on land use code violations at 238 Everett Road.

Adams told the board that in July the property owner had constructed a porch and deck without a permit and had constructed a portion of the improvement in violation of setback requirements.

Adams said the owner had stopped work when ordered to do so but, to date, had failed to take corrective measures.

Selectmen directed Adams to deliver a letter to the property owner explaining the consequences of his actions and warning him that the board was prepared to take legal action, should he fail to agree to a plan to remedy the situation before the board meets Feb. 4.

Adams also told selectmen that, subsequent to the board’s declaration that the property at 329 North Raymond Road was a “dangerous” property, he had heard from the owners and was hopeful some corrective measures may be taken to avoid the town proceeding with a hearing to order the property demolished.

Selectmen also appointed Alex Sirois to serve as assistant code enforcement officer through June 30.