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Maintenance: April 2017
April 3, pile of garbage not taken away from last week
Fixed: April 5, garbage removed
April 3, Parks didn't finish taking away the rink mats
Fixed: May 3: smaller rink mats gone, put away
April 5 costly big rink mats still outside
April 5, winter fire pit not deconstructed
April 5, buckets not in shed
April 3, #2 storage shed not sorted
fixed: April 10, storage shed tidy now
bulletin board repair request April 2016
Fixed: new bulletin board early winter 2017
April 8: skateboard park equipment repair pile
April 8: old clothes and sleeping bags in Parks pickup pile
April 11: old clothes put in garbage bags, added to pile
fixed April 12: old pile taken away, only one frame added
April 9: bedstead tossed into tree nursery
April 13: Fixed: pointed out to litterpicker, bedstead taken out
April 12: 11 expensive rink mats still not put away
April 11: adventure playground: no shovels, digging with sticks
April 14: sandpit level too low, needs more sand
April 11: wading pool with water, broken plastic, wood pieces
Fixed, April 12: wading pool cleared of water, broken plastic
April 13: water turned on at playground (early!)
April 13: drinking fountain leaks, just like every year
April 13: broken green roof sign, propped against wall
April 13: vandalized electrical outlet at cob cafe, fixed
April 14 (holiday): cob waterheater door left unlocked
April 14: unlocked cob water heater has a leak in pipes
April 14: called 311, staff fixed leak and locked door
April 20: rink mats still out, clutter, e.g. buckets, still around
April 22: kids still trying to build in sandpit, no shovels
April 23, 4.30 p.m.: sunny Sunday, about 800 people in the park, two campfires, washrooms locked
April 23, 4.30 p.m.: washrooms sign at rink house
April 23, 5 p.m., fixed: Jutta unlocked building door
April 24, 2017, email from Jutta to Keith Storey, Ward 18 recreation supervisor:
It has been the custom for years to move the computer cupboard to inside the double doors of the changeroom for security. Could that be done now? Then the sign announcing no access could be removed. And washroom use would not depend on a chance visit by me. The campfire staff person returning at 9.30 can lock up -- i.e there is no additional staffing expense but lots of additional happiness by park users.
April 26, 2017, response from Keith Storey, Ward 18 recreation supervisor, to Jutta's email
As scheduled, a parks crew will be opening the Field House washrooms beginning May 1st. They will be opened approximately from 9am-7pm all week. They will be closed in October.
Furthermore, as scheduled, beginning May 8th - the Dufferin Grove Clubhouse washrooms will be accessible until 10pm all week, until the end of September.
This weekend, April 29th and 30th – the Dufferin Grove Clubhouse will be opened from 9am-7pm. Relocating the computer is not an option, as it must be connected to the IT network. The building will be supervised by staff until 7pm.
Moving forward, I would prefer city staff to take on the responsibility of opening and closing city buildings.
April 25: small "building project" at cob getting out of control
April 25, water fountain not fixed yet, leaking a lot
April 26, 2017
Staff say they can do nothing about the cob mess until the weekend at the earliest.
April 27, 2017: cob enclosure completely blocked
April 27: next step: lots of shingles torn off
April 28, 9.30 a.m., email to Community Recreation Programmers (CRP's), cc to City Councillor Ana Bailao
Dear Sofia and Jaydee,
When it was so warm last weekend the playground filled up with families. Kids started making a fort at the cob cafe. But over the course of the week, without any rec program staff attention, the back of the cafe began to look like a junk heap.
The "broken windows" theory of public space neglect has been proven yet again. While rec staff focused on the rink clubhouse and selling food at the market snack bar, more and more shingles were torn off the cob cafe roof, a hole was dug inside the cob loop and covered over with wood from the adventure playground, and the whole area looks very bad.
Rain can now get into the cob walls where the shingles are missing and undermine the structure. The mess needs to be cleaned up and the wall needs tarping, until it can be repaired by program staff.
Parks staff maintenance of the playground has improved but rec staff attention and supervisory direction for the playground program are lagging behind. Rec program staff focus needs to shift to where the people are when spring is arriving -- outside!
mess inside
mess on shingled part
April 28, 1.30 p.m. email to Liliana Custodio, assistant to City Councillor Ana Bailao
Progress: the cleanup and the tarping of the vandalized areas of the cob wall were done by Ward 18 Rec supervisor Keith with the help of CRP's Sofia and Jaydee, along with onsite rec staff Anna. It looks much better.
Going forward I hope it will become clear that the playground, including the adventure sand/water/"construction" part and the cob cafe, is a big reason why so many families come to the park during non-rink season, and therefore it needs to be a priority for rec staff.
It should not continue to be down the list behind rec staff selling food at the farmers' market or doing data entry at the rink house. The rec staff are at the park but not directed to prioritize the kids' play. If putting the playground at the top of the warm-weather list is not possible, it would be better to return the playground area to be like other city playgrounds -- i.e. no adventure playground and no cafe.
April 28: Fixed: exposed roof area nicely tarped
Fixed: mess inside the loop all cleaned up by rec supervisor