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City Park splash pad slide closed for repair

Council approves firefighter raise on final reading

By Evan Bevins 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- One slide at the new splash pad in City Park is closed until a replacement component is installed, possibly as soon as today, following a child's injury Sunday.

Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce discussed the situation prior to Tuesday's City Council meeting, in which the final reading of a raise for firefighters and the first reading of a rezoning were approved.

Joyce said he was made aware of the child's injury Sunday by a third party and city officials confirmed it Monday.

"It's unfortunate," he said, adding he felt bad for the child who was injured.

The mayor said he, Public Works Director Everett Shears and City Engineer Adam Stout inspected the tube slide on which the boy was injured and a determination was made to modify it. The manufacturer is sending two new pieces to replace the segments that have clear windows with solid pieces.

"Those had to be fabricated," Joyce said.

The pieces are expected to be delivered today, and a technician is being sent to install them. The work is being done at no cost to the city, Joyce said.

"Effective today (Tuesday), we closed that section of the splash pad," he said, noting attendance was low Monday because of the rainy weather. "We hope the tube slide will be open (on) Thursday."

Parkersburg resident Shelby Dearth said her 3-year-old son received six staples at the emergency room after suffering a gash on the back of his head when he went down the tube slide Sunday.

Dearth said she posted a picture of her son's injury on Facebook to warn other parents and contacted city officials about the incident Monday morning.

"I don't want a lawsuit," she said. "It's (the splash pad) a good thing for our kids … it's fun for them, but it needs to be safe."

Dearth said that after her post she heard from other parents of children who'd been hurt at the splash pad. A WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center official said there has not been an influx of emergency patients with injuries from the pad, saying the total was perhaps three.

Joyce said he's only been made aware of two injuries at the splash pad, including Sunday's. He said that within a week of the splash pad's opening on May 31, a dedicated supervisor was assigned to it "because of a lack of parental supervision" of children of various ages.

"We had small children getting knocked over by bigger children," he said.

Tuesday's council meeting was a brief affair, with the firefighters' raise -- which works out to $702 a year for employees working 54- and 40-hour weeks -- passed 8-0, with Council President Mike Reynolds absent, on final reading. That increase, along with 75 cents an hour for those with the firefighter first class designation and an additional 13 cents an hour for certified EMTs that passed earlier, was included in the 2019-20 budget.

Council also voted 8-0 to approve a petition to rezone residential property at 1208 Blizzard Drive to commercial. The owners told the Parkersburg Municipal Planning Commission earlier this month they purchased the site, believing it was commercial, with the intent of opening a van rental business. But while the property had long been used as a car lot, it was grandfathered in under the city's zoning ordinance and reverted to residential after it had not been used for a year.

Joyce thanked representatives of Laborers Local 1085 for their assistance in pouring the foundation for the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument dedicated in City Park earlier this month.

"We couldn't have done it and certainly couldn't have done it on time without them," Joyce said.

Laborers Local 1085 business manager Jessie King said the union is proud to assist with local projects and willing to help when it can.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com

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