Playground Structure

The Minerva Park Playground has become a sore sight. The June 1999 Villager featured a piece on the new playground to be installed, it has since been 12 years.

You might notice from this shot that things aren't exactly straight anymore. The railing next to the spiral slide indicates some of the tilting going on. In person it is much more pronounced all around, if you give it a look.

The wooden structure has been infested with bees in the warmer months, which have left holes throughout the structure. The wood is now rotting and it seems almost monthly this year there has been a board needing replaced.

Here is just one example of the damage from bees:

 Almost every roof peak looks like this.

A few days ago, an entire railing fell off the upper landing:

It belongs above the yellow tunnel, seen above.

Someone propped it up against a post.

Rotten wood permeates the structure.

A look from above on where it was rotting.

Here is a shot of the underside of the large platform. It looks as though a supporting board is missing.

As of the night these photos were taken, Tuesday, July 19th, there was caution tape on the structure. I have yet to see if proper repairs have been made. Edit: as of 8:30pm July 22nd, there is still caution tape where the railing belongs.

Not only is this a safety hazard, it concerns me as a resident because on Wednesday, July 20th, Dave Hays, the Code Enforcement Officer, spoke to a resident saying that there were complaints made about the weeds in their garden, a commercial vehicle in their driveway and a few other issues. The residents neighbors didn't file any complaints and, apparently under Lynn Eisentrout and Kim Nuesse's advice, Dave came to the residents' home with a police officer. Why isn't attention being given to the safety hazard that exists in the Minerva Park playground (one that the Park stands to be in a lawsuit over if a person were hurt) but it is being focused on a resident which Lynn personally does not like?

If you want to take things further, why isn't attention being given (at least more strongly) to the commercial properties on Cleveland Avenue that fall under Minerva Park Zoning Ordinances? Any resident who drives past that strip mall serves to gain from it being cleaned up and ordinances better enforced. Better yet, residents who are trying to sell their homes in Minerva Park but can't because of the surrounding area serve to gain from those businesses being held to the zoning codes, much more-so than they do one commercial vehicle and a few wildflowers at the residence of a neighbor whom Lynn decided to single out.