Smelterville park closed indefinitely after further vandalism
This section of the jungle gym at Smelterville's City Park was pulled apart. Floor boards have been replaced due to someone stomping them out. In the wake of the vandalism, the city has decided to close the park until further notice.
Courtesy photo
SMELTERVILLE –– Another round of costly vandalism has forced city officials to permanently close Smelterville’s City Park.
It was reported on Tuesday morning that multiple children were caught on the park’s security camera system damaging the park’s expensive, fixed-set volleyball net.
According to the Smelterville City Clerk Heidi Klein, the damages to the volleyball system are estimated at $5,000, however, that figure comes from Klein’s memory of the purchase cost from two years ago – which could mean that the parts to repair and replace are more expensive today.
This isn’t the first time the city has had to shut the park down for vandalism issues this summer – in fact, the park had only recently been reopened.
The park was officially open for the 2022 summer season on Memorial Day weekend and since that time there have been four different occasions where the park’s security cameras have caught children purposefully being destructive with the park equipment.
This includes former attempts at uprooting the cemented posts for the volleyball nets, the volleyball nets themselves, boards have been purposefully broken on the jungle gym equipment, and a porta-potty was set on fire.
With no on-site bathroom facilities, the city thought renting a porta-potty would allow parents and families a little more freedom to go to the park and stay for extended periods of time, but now the city has to pay to replace the destroyed facility.
Since that time, the city has also received reports of people defecating in the park – which is quite literally a consequence of the porta-potty’s destruction.
While Smelterville Mayor Tom Benson couldn’t be reached for comment, Klein explained that the city’s decision comes down to simple dollars and cents.
“They broke the volleyball system by jumping and swinging on it,” Klein said. “At the last council meeting they said that they are done paying for any new damages. The total cost to replace would be $5,000 minimum. That was the cost when we purchased it two years ago, so it may even cost more, but we won't be replacing it just to waste the money.”
The city caught the children on their security system, and are working to identify the still images that they pulled from the footage.
The city plans on installing some upgraded cameras before they reopen – which likely will not be until Memorial Day weekend 2023.
The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation on behalf of the city.