Muskego Parks Board Works to Protect Park Arthur

Recent vandalism at Park Arthur, where a man gained access to the park with his pick up truck and created ruts that had to be repaired, has raised concerns about how the park could be better protected.

"This is an area that has been quite a party area for many years, especially people with four-wheel drives," said Alderman Neil Borgman who was in attendance.  "I feel like we're just improving their party area."

Borgman had also expressed his frustration with the vandalism and had asked if there was some way the park could be fenced in before the completion of work for 2011.

The park is nearing the end of grading and excavation work, and no part of the park will be open for at least another year.  Craig Anderson, parks director, explained that while frustrating, this type of vandalism is not unique to Park Arthur.

"They can do this sort of thing at any one of our parks - I can guarantee that," he said.  "If they have a four-wheel drive vehicle and they want to get in, they will.  The night this happened, we had met with the contractor earlier and we lined up their equipment across the road areas."

Anderson's point was that access was gained in an area not designed for it, and he said that with work nearly complete, they will be taking measures to close up the park as best as they can for winter.

Anderson also explained that other parks like Denoon and Bluhm have had similar incidents over the years.  Board members said that large rocks placed in the parks have helped deter this type of vandalism, and the idea of cameras in the future would also be a possibility.