Parent: Condition of playground equipment at City Lake Park ‘unacceptable’

With three different parks equipped with playground equipment in Russellville, there’s no shortage of places for parents to take their kids for some outdoor play.

But one of those places, City Lake Park, adjacent to Russellville High School, is in dire need of repairs and replacement of equipment according to several parents who contacted the Franklin Free Press with concerns.

Tyler Harper, one of those parents, describes the condition of playground equipment at City Lake Park as ‘disgusting,’ as well as unsafe.

When Harper and his family visited City Lake Park on March 1st, Harper saw playground equipment that was broken, some with sharp, jagged edges, missing pieces, dilapidated floors and an elevated tunnel with cracks and splits. He’s also concerned about rusted metal platforms on some equipment, as well as broken panels that could compromise the structural integrity of these elevated pieces of equipment.

“It was pretty disheartening knowing what could happen especially with the tunnel being in the condition it is,” Harper said. “As a parent, you think of all the possible outcomes. If that tunnel was to give out while a child was in it, they’d drop about eight feet to the ground.

“If small children are running up to this equipment that has sharp, jagged edges, they could get cut pretty badly. It’s just a lawsuit waiting to happen. How is there always funding for everything else, but when it comes to the safety of our children, suddenly it’s not urgent?,” he added.

Harper made a social media post later that day that included photos of the City Lake Park playground equipment. The post caught the attention of Russellville Parks and Recreation Department Director Donnie Flanagan, who, along with Park and Rec maintenance employees, spent most of Monday at City Lake Park to see first-hand the equipment’s condition.

Flanagan said the playground equipment at City Lake Park, Eastside Park and Chucky Mullens Park is inspected, but he was personally unaware of how serious the problem was with some of it.

“We’ve had playground equipment and some parts ordered for a while but it takes a while to get it. We do inspect our playgrounds. That’s the reason we knew about the problems at City Lake. But it’s gotten worse since we last inspected it,” Flanagan said.

On Monday, Park and Rec employees made a few minor repairs and closed off some equipment until it can be replaced or repaired.

Flanagan contacted a representative of the playground equipment’s manufacturer and said she’s going to come to Russellville and look at the equipment at all three parks.

“We are aware of the situation and spent all day Monday making it safe where hopefully no child could get hurt. We closed off some equipment and removed some as well,” Flanagan said.

Although owned by the City of Russellville, the parks, playground and equipment are managed through Russellville City Schools, which took over operations of the city’s Park and Recreation Department in 2019.

The mutual agreement provided that the city will fund $750,000 annually for Park and Recreation Department operations, but that money goes to Russellville City Schools, who is responsible after that point for all operations, including maintenance of equipment, at city parks.

Russellville City Councilman Darren Woodruff, whose District Two includes City Lake Park, said he’s received complaints and concerns from citizens about the disrepair of the City Lake Park playground.

Woodruff said he contacted Flanagan after hearing about the situation.

“I did reach out to Donnie to make sure he was aware of the issue,” Woodruff said. “We want all city facilities safe for kids and their families, so I’m glad to hear new equipment was ordered, both prior to Monday’s inspection and after.

With Flanagan’s response coming one day after his social media post, complete with photos of various states of disrepair to equipment, Harper’s message got through to the right people.

“It should not take a child getting seriously injured for the city to take action…This is unacceptable. Russellville needs to fix this immediately. Our children deserve safe places to play, not hazards waiting to happen,” Harper said.

Flanagan said he welcomes input and concerns from the public about the Park and Recreation Department. And if someone had raised these concerns previously, action would have already been taken.

To report an issue with any Russellville Park and Recreation Department property, call 256-332-8770.

“We always appreciate hearing from the public regarding any concerns they have. I’d love for them to first reach out to us one-on-one, but if they go the Facebook way, that’s fine too. I’ll never take that personally.

“But if you reach out directly to us, your concern will likely get handled quicker,” Flanagan said.