POULSBO — The past two weeks have brought the return of a familiar problem to Little Norway as vandals have left their mark on American Legion Park and Lions Park.
The two spring-supported children’s rides, which were installed by the Poulsbo Noon Lions Club at American Legion Park in 2006, are temporarily out of service.
“That’s all happened the last two weekends,” assistant public works director Dan Wilson said Tuesday afternoon. “First it was one, then it was the other.”
Although there were no witnesses to the destruction, Wilson said it took a great deal of force to break the two springs.
“You can’t even drill those,” he said. “It took a lot to do that.”
The estimated cost of replacing the springs would be $180 each, and city officials are looking into finding ways to reduce the likelihood of future incidents, he said. One way might be to install leaf springs, which don’t allow lateral movement, but still give kids the opportunity to enjoy the playground equipment, Wilson said.
The hard plastic slide at Lions Park was also put out of commission recently, public works foreman Joe Walker said.
“It looks like some skateboarders dug their hard wheels into it,” he said.
That brute force broke through the plastic and resulted in public works crews having to dismantle the popular amenity, Walker said.
Despite the seemingly routine incidents of vandalism, the city’s public works department continues doing a great job of maintaining the city’s playgrounds, said parks and recreation director Mary McCluskey.
“Public works is great about taking on vandalism,” McCluskey said.
Even so, until the broken equipment is repaired, the entire community will lose out on the benefits and enjoyment those amenities provide, she said.
Also, the city has to find the funds to pay for the repairs, because those responsible are seldom caught, McCluskey said.
The incidents at American Legion Park were reported to the Poulsbo Police Department by the city’s public works department, but the police hadn’t received any reports about the damage at Lions Park as of Thursday morning, PPD Sgt. William Playter said.
“It looks like it had someone too big for it,” Playter said of the American Legion Park equipment. “We don’t know if it was intentional or not.”
Because police officers can’t be everywhere at once, anyone who sees someone misusing equipment is encouraged to call 911 and report it, Playter said.
