HANCOCK COUNTY — Broken playground equipment, flooded areas and gates that don’t work. Those are just some of the things residents say need to be fixed at Sugar Creek Township Park, and they made the complaints public on a social media site last week.
Officials with the park board are aware of the issues and had plans to deal with them as they can afford, but repairs and improvement are proving costly.
Taken aback by the tone and level of criticism that blew up online, the board quickly sprang into action. Now, plans are in place for regular maintenance and cleanup by a new corps of volunteers, and even Sugar Creek Township firefighters will be stepping up to help.
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A group of people on social media decided to be part of the solution after seeing the post. They created a new group called New Pal Community Volunteers on Facebook asking for residents to come help during a Park Fun Day as one of their first projects. The first event is Sunday.
The controversy began with a post on the New Palestine Parents Facebook page on Wednesday, July 24. One comment referred to pictures of the park and said, “This is absolutely awful… What a shame.” Another read, “ Thanks for showing me where NOT to take my kids to play.” One parent even poked fun at the flooding issues, which have dogged the park’s overseers: “It’s so muddy around the playground equipment my 4-year-old played ‘find the flip flop.’”
Bob Boyer, the Sugar Creek Township trustee, was stung by the complaints, he said, and noted he and the board have worked hard to build a solid recreational facility for the township. Over time, more equipment has been added, and a veterans memorial also has opened there.
The 88-acre park is at 4161 S. County Road 700W, not far from U.S. 52.
Still, the board decided to act upon seeing the posts. They had already scheduled paving work to be done last week and can now take that off the list. Plus, officials with the fire department and the group of citizens plan to help.
The township park board pointed out that the park is a community facility, one that operates on a limited budget of $72,500 per year. An estimated $50,000 goes toward capital expenditures, such as paving. They also want people to know that no one on the board is paid paid for the work they do.
Scott Miller, who has been on the board since it was created, said the fact the board is not elected is not germane to the complaints aired. But he added that making sure the community knows the basic structure of park governance and oversight can be helpful in understanding how situations like the ones described in the social media post can develop.
“There is no ‘park employee’ per se,” Miller said. “Mowing, trash removal, port-a-lets are contracted services.”
Some of the complaints recently posted included rebar spikes sticking out of the ground and most of the timbers used for borders; landscape fabric ripped up and sticking out of the mulch; timbers dislodged and tossed throughout the playground; broken and poorly maintained play equipment; and weeds growing throughout.
While the trustee is responsible for making sure the grounds are maintained, his duties and those of the volunteer board should not include picking up others’ trash, garbage, or bagged dog waste that didn’t quite make it to the trash cans, Miller said. However, residents will often see Boyer and park board members performing these tasks, he pointed out.
“Everyone who frequents the park can and should help make it a better place by being respectful,” Miller said.
In the board’s five-year master plan, officials acknowledged there were several issues to be addressed, such as the playground and dog park entrance. Both flood when it rains.
“We know the playground is not in the right place,” Boyer said. “But, it’s going to cost some money to relocate that.” Park officials have estimated that cost could be close to $90,000.
Boyer insists the park is a good one, but he admits, like any facility, it needs regular maintenance. As a result of the complaints, just this week officials from the fire department visited and worked on some of the more pressing issues during their down time.
Capt. Andrew Neumeister and his crew drove down some of the rebar spikes and plan to make frequent stops at the park to make sure it’s not in disrepair, newly appointed fire chief Brandon Kleine said.
“Neumeister already has a plan to get some mulch in there because we don’t want to see the complaints against the park board or the trustee,” Kleine said.
The first Community Park Fun Day is from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. They’re going to do some basic park clean-up like pulling weeds, laying mulch and other spruce-up tasks. A second Park Fun Day is slated from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. Anyone interested in helping out is encouraged to show up ready to work.
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Two clean-up days have been scheduled at Sugar Creek Township Park. The public is invited to participate.
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, and Saturday, Aug. 17.
Tasks: Basic clean-up such as pulling weeds, laying mulch and other spruce-up tasks.
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