Vandals are torching a popular Coldstream park.
Within the past week, fires have destroyed facilities twice at Creekside Park on Kidston Road.
“We could be spending the money on the park itself but instead, it’s going to repairs,” said Jim Bailey, facilities manager for the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee.
On Oct. 15, a portable toilet, chained to the concession/washroom building, was lit on fire.
“The fire spread and did $20,000 in damages to the building,” said Bailey.
The roof must be replaced while the interior of the structure must be redone because of smoke damage.
“When plastic (from the toilet) burns, it leaves a heavy smoke residue,” said Bailey.
GVAC will also be responsible for replacing the portable outhouse, which was leased from a business.
On Saturday night, a bonfire was set up in the middle of the lacrosse box, burning a hole in the asphalt surface.
The repairs to the asphalt will cost about $300 to $400, but the situation could have been far worse.
“What if somebody falls into that hole and twists an ankle?” said Dennis Webb, with the Vernon Ball Hockey League, which uses the lacrosse box every weekend.
And this isn’t the first time that vandals have hit the park this year.
Back in April, the box was spray painted, 10 locks on fencing covering the players’ benches were cut and a 45-gallon garbage drum was ripped off a wall and set on fire.
Webb is increasingly frustrated with the damage, and wondering why GVAC and the District of Coldstream aren’t monitoring the site.
“Where is bylaw enforcement? Where are the RCMP? How come nobody saw them building a bonfire?” he said of Saturday’s vandalism.
“It should have been seen. Why isn’t there any security there?”
Bailey insists that GVAC is reviewing security at the park.
“We are investigating security cameras in there,” he said, but he’s not aware of regular nightly patrols.
“If that’s what it takes, that may be what we look at.”
Bailey is also asking nearby residents to keep an eye out for suspicious activity in Creekside Park, especially late at night.
“I would ask them to keep their eyes open and report it immediately. Maybe then we can get on to it a little more quickly,” he said.
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