- Kaysville faces a surge in vandalism, affecting five to six parks.
- Damages include shattered toilets and graffiti, costing nearly $10,000 in repairs.
- Police urge parents to discuss appropriate behavior; investigation into vandalism continues.
KAYSVILLE — Parks and recreation departments are used to seeing one or two acts of vandalism in the city's parks each summer. This summer, however, they are seeing more than they bargained — and budgeted — for over the course of recent weeks.
Of the city's 12 parks, half of them have been vandalized in the last month, according to parks and rec staff, and these are not the typical acts from years past, such as trash or fireworks debris. This year, these acts of vandalism have been more violent.
Explosives made with fireworks have broken and shattered toilets in park bathrooms. Graffiti has made its way around different areas of parks. Fences have been damaged and lights have been shattered.
"We have stuff happen all the time. It's normal for it to go up close to the Fourth (of July)," said Cole Stephens, the department's director. "The biggest frustration this year has been about the money we have to take from other things to pay for the repair."
Stephens estimates that the department has spent close to $10,000 on the materials and labor needed to restore everything. The money is not taken from the recreation part of the budget, but the parks area, meaning improvements that have been needed will have to be put on further hold.
Staff at other parks and rec departments throughout Davis County have not seen an increase in vandalism in recent weeks or over the course of the summer. They do, however, experience two or three acts each year and they expect the same this year, they said.
But city leaders are all aware of the vandalism increase in Kaysville and are keeping their eyes open for similar acts in their parks.
Kaysville police are handling the investigation into the rash of vandalism, which has also included lighting fires in parking lots. At this point, officers cannot confirm that teenagers are committing the acts — although teens appear to be entering vandalized spaces based on video surveillance, but law enforcement has yet to identify anyone.
They also do not know of a motive for the vandalism.
Until they do, they are urging parents to speak to their children about appropriate behavior in parks or any public space, reminding them that the spaces are for everyone to enjoy.
"We do think about this escalating ... and most of the kids we serve in recreation programs are younger than what we may be seeing in the video, but it's still important to speak to all children about how to act appropriately in the parks," Stephens said. "And to the people doing this, we want you here. We want you to be in our parks. Just be respectful of the property."
Kaysville police officers agree. It's important to tell children that what is going on is not OK, they said. And that if they see something, it is important to say something.
To date, most of the vandalism appears to take place at night. The most recent incident was an explosion in a bathroom at Ponds Park after 11 p.m. last week.
All the adults working on preventing vandalism in the parks understand that kids like to go out in the summer and have fun, they said.
What they are seeing, though, is not the fun they are hoping to see.
"We need everyone, including our parents, to talk about this. We want to keep our parks nice for everyone," said Kaysville police public information officer Noelia Wallace.
Anyone with information is asked to call 801-546-1131 or 801-298-6000.
