Recent vandalism at Millennium Park has the Lincoln City Council looking for ways to better enforce park use and regulations.

Park board members Dan Cox and Lana Barnhart expressed their frustrations over the vandalism at Thursday's council meeting.

Last week, the shed at the park was broken into and an electrical box was torn out, a fire extinguisher emptied, oil drained from machinery and spread around, shingles torn from the roof, and softballs stolen and thrown through windows in the neighborhood.

Cox estimated the damage at $1,500, and the park board has put up a reward of $100 for information leading to the discovery of the culprits.

"The parks budget is about $15,000 this year, and, once I get the shed fixed, that will use up about 10 percent of the budget," Cox said. "Where the problems start are the kids there after dark. We know this latest vandalism happened during the wee hours of the night. Kids hanging out after dark are just looking for a problem."

Barnhart has been a member of the park board for eight years, but it has just been the last couple of years that vandalism problems have gotten out of control, she said.

"I started keeping track of what was happening. We put up tether balls, and the balls were knifed. We put in a skateboard park, and that led to a lot of bullying and profanity, so we had to disassemble it," Barnhart said. "Hoses have been cut; kids carry air guns and BB guns; picnic tables are taken apart and used for skating ramps; the skating rink shelter was paint-balled; they dug up the lawn for bike jumps; cement curbing was smashed with a sledge hammer; plants are chopped up; the pop machine is useless because of the things stuck in it; and now we have the latest damage to the shed."

Part of the problem, according to police Chief Tiffany Harr, is that the park ordinances have not been adopted by the city, so the police can't enforce them. She also points out that the closing time for the parks is "at dark," and suggested a specific closing time has to be set.

"The parks close at dark, which isn't defined," Harr said. "We have to set a definite time to close. The city needs to adopt ordinances pertinent to the park, like 'no glass containers permitted,' things like that, so we have ordinances to enforce."

City attorney Stan Boehm pointed out the city of Bismarck adopted the Bismarck Park District's ordinances, giving law enforcement teeth to hand out citations for breaking park ordinances.

He suggested Lincoln do the same.

Cox said he believes that, if citations were handed out to violators hanging out at the park after dark, it would help curb the vandalism.

"A lot of the things happen during broad daylight," Barnhart said. "Taxpayer money is going right down the tubes. Why do children have to fear going to the park? If we don't do something, there is no point in developing more park land. I won't send my kids down there for anything, and I'm terrified what will happen when we put that gazebo up."

Harr said that when she is called to the park on a report she usually makes everyone leave.

"I don't think that's helping. We can't seem to catch anybody. Of course, when the police are around, nobody will do anything," Harr said.

"If we do have the city adopt park ordinances, I would like to look at something for those people who habitually break ordinances, like banning them from the park."

The council directed Boehm to research what Bismarck does with its ordinances and bring back something the council can consider.

Cox also asked if the city could consider a policy requiring land developers to provide a certain amount of land for public parks or greenways when they attempt to plat a development.

City engineer Roger Berg said it was possible for the council to develop such an ordinance, but it would likely meet with a lot of resistance from developers. The council took no action.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)