The family that vandalizes together may face the music together.
The Willow Point Rotary Splashpark was defaced with writing and drawing in freshly poured concrete, in an incident caught in photos by a passerby.
Photographs of what appear to be one or two family groups of adults and children writing and drawing in the concrete were taken Feb. 17 at approximately 5:17 p.m. by a man walking past the Splashpark.
Four adults and five young children appear in the photo, and the man later took photographs of the damage. Both sets of images are with the RCMP for investigation that could lead to charges of mischief.
“It’s likely these people didn’t set out to deliberately cause harm and cost taxpayers money. Perhaps they thought they were just having fun," said Ross Milnthorp, the City’s general manager of parks, recreation and culture. "But, if your neighbour poured a new concrete driveway, it wouldn’t be acceptable to write or draw in that concrete.
“Such activity is considered vandalism, and we’re surprised that adults, as role models, could think this is a suitable family activity.”
The concrete had to be re-surfaced, which took crews away from other work and cost the City taxpayers extra expense. While Milnthorp was not yet able to confirm the exact cost of repair, he said the cost to pour the concrete initially was approximately $2,500.
The concrete was installed to support new bike racks.