A WATER FOUNTAIN at Florence Robison Park in Battle Ground was recently broken and disassembled. This is just one of several acts of vandalism that have occurred in area parks recently.
On Aug. 25, 6-year-old Makayla Ferguson and 8-year-old Geneva Ricardo set up a lemonade stand in their neighborhood to raise money to help pay for a broken slide that was the victim of vandalism in Florence Robison Park.
Unfortunately, the vandalism did not stop at just one Battle Ground park. Over a period of about two to three weeks, about five cases of vandalism have occurred at several different Battle Ground parks.
Debbi Hanson, Battle Ground Parks and Recreation director, said a tire swing was recently stolen from Kiwanis Park and a free-standing barbecue unit at Hidden Glen Park was recently stolen. At Florence Robison Park, the slide was broken, one of the park benches was torn apart and a water fountain was broken and torn apart.
Although the two girls raised $71 at their lemonade stand to go torwards fixing the broken slide and the City Council matched that amount, Hanson said that the cost to fix the slide is about $1,300. She said the tire swing that was stolen cost a little more than $1,000 and the stolen barbecue unit cost close to $1,000.
"We haven’t went through and accessed everything yet, but each piece of broken equipment cost close to about $1,000 each," Hanson said.
Hanson said the City does have certain money set aside in the budget for general operating expenses and maintenance, but the available funds are pretty slim. She said they anticipate to only replace one or two of the items throughout an entire year.
"It’s definitely a financial burden," Hanson said. "We certainly don’t plan on these kinds of things happening, but we do always try to be prepared just in case unforeseen things like this happen."
Currently, Hanson said City staff does not have any leads on who has been vandalizing the park equipment. However, she said she has been working closely with Bob Richardson, chief of police at the Battle Ground Police Department, to set up extra patrols around the parks.
Richardson said he has directed officers to increase patrols in the area of City parks and police department staff are also preparing a mailer to go out to homes adjacent to Kiwanis Park and Florence Robison Park. The mailer informs community members of the vandalism and encourages them to call 9-1-1 and report suspicious activity or vehicles.
"The most important thing is for our residents to call the police and report the descriptions of suspects and vehicle license plates immediately," Richardson said. "I am not asking them to confront suspects, I am only asking them to be additional eyes and ears in the community."
In addition to calling 9-1-1, Battle Ground Police Department staff can also be reached at (360) 342-5200.
