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| Why do some people that want nice things destroy the nice things the taxpayers subsequently provide? It's paradoxical... |
Ever since the county spent nearly $200K to build nice, clean and modern restroom facilities at the county's most utilized and busy park---Beulah Regional Park in District 1--there have been incidents of vandalizm over and over and over. One after another, nonstop.
Why?
Why do folks do this to their park?
I use this park all the time, I love it. Tennis courts, Basketball Court , a dog park, walking trails, and lots of other amenities for all the residents to enjoy.
One of the best amenities came in 2019 when the county completed the permanent restrooms and removed the disgusting, smelly, and horrible "porta potties" that used to sit on a pad right by the parking lot. They were gone, the new restrooms were built, and all is well. Or so we thought. Here is the latest report from a citizen about this facility......:
"The Vandalism at Beulah Park mens room is getting really
out of hand. Last week someone destroyed the paper towel dispensers by ripping
the doors off and even knocking one off the wall. Last night July 4th someone
appears to have used fireworks to destroy the toilet by blowing the bottom out
of the fixture. A few weeks ago someone wrote racial slurs on the walls with
sidewalk chalk. I use this Park frequently and its nice to have bathroom
facilities while using the park but with the progression of the vandalism it
will soon be totally destroyed and unusable. Please put in a work order to have
the facility fixture repaired and report the vandalism to the Sheriff’s Dept
and request additional patrols to possible curb the increasing Vandalism.
Thank You for your help"
My Response:
XXXXXXXX,
I utilize that park frequently and I, too, have seen the
results of this vandalism and destruction which is terrible. Your county spent $160 K ---taxpayer
dollars--on just those restrooms ---so that families and ordinary citizens
could enjoy the park and not have to endure "porta-potties." Sadly--some citizens just cannot handle the
responsibility of NOT destroying things that are nice. And regreatably, folks that engage in this
destructive behavior make it harder for the county to do nice things for the
citizens. I will, by copy of this email
to the director of parks and recreation Michael Rhodes, report what you have
sent to me and request that repairs be made expeditiously. I will, by copy of this email to my assistant
Debbie Kenney, have this issue reported to our liaison with the sheriff's
office as well--to see if they have any ideas about how to curb this chronic
vandalism at this park.
I will never understand the mentality of those who
destroy things provided for community benefit.
It is a dysfunctional mentality that, unfortunately, is far too
prevalent in multiple areas of society today.
And sadly, I don't see any evidence that it is going to change anytime
soon. So the rest of us will continue to
pay more and more for the things we enjoy and expect from government. Which means constricted levels of funding and
services in other areas.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bergosh
Vice-Chairman and District 1 Commissioner, Escambia Board
of County Commissioners
221 Palafox Place Suite 400
Pensacola, FL 32502
850-595-4910 office
850-377-2209 Voicemail
District1@myescambia.com
www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/
Twitter-- @jeffbergosh
