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Residents urge action on park safety and upkeep; council to meet with Parks & Rec
Summary
Residents and council members described persistent maintenance and safety problems at the town park — from a rotting pavilion roof to fence gaps and an unsafe infield — and the council agreed to hold a joint meeting with Parks & Rec to compile repairs, obtain quotes and clarify who is responsible for maintenance and funding.
A string of park maintenance complaints prompted residents and council members at the City of Swisher council meeting on Aug. 12 to push for a joint meeting with the Parks & Recreation board to clarify responsibilities and budget needs.
Patty Herman, who identified herself to the council, said the park is “not in very good shape” and listed specific problems including a pavilion roof with rotting ceiling panels, broken lights in the women’s restroom, gaps in the outfield fence and a nonworking scoreboard. “It's embarrassing,” she said, adding that the exposed tubing and gaps are a liability if someone is injured.
Council members acknowledged the long history of maintenance issues and said some items are within the parks board’s purview while others — major repairs or structural work — fall to city maintenance or require council-approved funding. One council member noted the parks budget line items: $9,100 for events, $3,000 for operating supplies, $6,000 for ground maintenance and $1,000 for building repairs, and said those allocations are unlikely to cover larger repairs such as fence replacement or a reroofing without additional approval.
City staff and council asked Parks & Rec to assemble a consolidated list of needed repairs and supporting cost estimates so the council can prioritize work in next year’s budget. The council directed staff to set a joint meeting with Parks & Rec and to collect vendor quotes — including for fence work — and to circulate a single list of items to council members ahead of that meeting.
The council also discussed volunteer repair efforts and liability paperwork: city staff said volunteers must sign waivers when working on city property and that larger or riskier tasks may need to be contracted or covered by the city’s insurance.
The council closed the discussion by asking residents to email items for the joint agenda and by instructing staff to bring the compiled list and cost estimates to the joint meeting so the council can set funding priorities.
