Extensive vandalism at West City Park in Festus will cost at least $2,000 to repair, parks superintendent Larry Crites said today (Nov. 23).
The vandalism occurred sometime between Thursday afternoon (Nov. 19) and the next morning, he said.
Parks Department employees discovered the vandalism at several locations in the park when they reported to work at 6:30 a.m. Friday (Nov. 20). The park is along Sunshine Drive on the western edge of town.
“There were spindles knocked out of the fishing dock,” Crites said. “The (posts) that keep people from driving by the dock had been torn up and thrown into the lake. All the street signs had been torn down. Some had been thrown into the trees and some were thrown in the lake. A bulletin board for the disc golf was ripped down. The barn had doors knocked off and windows broken.
“Between the damages done and the employees’ time, I’d say it’s at least $2,000 in damage costs.”
He said he will not know a final total until the repair work is completed. He said he believes insurance will pay some of the costs after the city pays its $1,000 deductible.
The posts blocking vehicle traffic at the lake, which are made of heavy plastic and secured to the ground, likely took more than one person to knock over, as did some of the other damages, Crites said.
He said while vandalism at the city’s parks generally does not surprise him, the amount in this case did.
“We’ve never had this much at one time,” Crites said.
He said the vandalism has not forced the city to shut down the park, which closes at dusk each day, but the cleanup and repair work that began on Nov. 20 could take a few more days to complete.