Ashland Parks and Rec. repairing thousands of dollars worth of vandalism

ASHLAND, Ore.- Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission is repairing thousands of dollars’ worth of vandalism at their parks.

The organization’s interim director confirmed they have a $20k budget for park maintenance each biennium. But since the start of that 2-year budget cycle in July, Parks and Rec. has already spent about half of its entire maintenance budget to repair vandalism.

The interim director said Parks and Rec. is as upset about it as the rest of the community.

“It’s frustrating because the money, time and energy that it takes could be going towards other, really critical work within parks,” Ashland Parks and Rec. Interim Director Leslie Eldridge, “We want to be giving a good quality product to the public, we want them to be able to feel like they can use the facilities and that the parks are a safe place to be”.

Eldridge says Parks and Rec. is getting endless amounts of complaints. She told us it’s hard to stop the vandalism, but that Parks and Rec. is adapting to try to prevent any more damage. Prevention measures include changing the bathroom locking mechanics and replacing steel grates with stronger materials.

Ashland Parks and Rec. encourages anyone who sees any vandalism to contact Ashland police.