By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
Piedmont’s newest park has had to close its bathrooms after human feces was found smeared on the walls and floor.
Piedmont Park has been plagued by one or more unknown pranksters who have chosen to defecate on the floor instead of in the toilet.
“Somebody had smeared it on walls and the floor,” Public Works Director Bud Stuber said.
“It was mostly in the men’s room, but it was in both.”
A cleaning crew that had been hired for the park resigned and it became an unresolved problem as to whose responsibility it was to clean it: the city’s, the parks and recreation board, or people who volunteer to beautify the park.
The city adopted the park after organizers dedicated it to the community and handed over ownership to the city last summer.
“It’s something that just happens in public parks,” City Manager Jason Orr said Friday of the poop problem. “But the issue is getting it cleaned up. No one wants to clean it up and it kept happening, so if kids want to disrespect the park, then we’ll just close the bathrooms.”
The bathrooms at the park have been closed indefinitely, but Stuber said they hope to open next season.
“We’re looking at hiring part time workers in the summer and not as many in the winter,” Stuber said Wednesday. “We want people to be about to get out there and have picnics, use the equipment and enjoy it.”
Other problems with the park have surfaced since it opened.
“There’s a drainage problem so that has to be fixed. There are some pipes that are leaking and we don’t know yet where they are,” Orr said.
Some of the water features on the splash pad had to be turned off because of leaking water. Stuber said it’s likely the entire concrete splash pad will have to be pulled up and the plumbing redone. There are 12 lines under the pad that deliver water to the splash pad features.
“As far as we can tell right now, three of those lines are bad,” Stuber said. “Part of the standing water is the layout because they didn’t plan for any (land) drainage.”
The drainage that was installed on the pad is also a problem.
“We’re pretty breezy in Oklahoma, but that water on the splash pad, most of its draining out from that center point, the drain going out to the west is not sufficient,” Stuber said.
The cost of repairs will now fall to the city, but Stuber did not have an estimate for replacing the plumbing, fixing the drainage issues and possible replacement of the concrete pad.
“It’s been good for the community,” Stuber said. “It’s pretty active, people use it and come together up there but we need to address some of the issues.”
The splash pad is closed for the winter season.
The park’s organizers were sued in federal court last year before it opened. Park organizers, including Paul Francel, Phil Boevers and Eric Anderson, alleged that the splash pad contractor, Texas-based See Spray, performed shoddy work and refused to pay the company more than $150,000 for the splash pad and customized features.
See Spray sued, alleging the necessary repairs were not significant, would have been corrected and did not justify forfeited pay. The Texas federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that it should have been filed in Oklahoma.
