(Fredericksburg, VA) December 17, 2024 – The City of Fredericksburg’s open spaces are some of the key features of this amazing community. Since the beginning of June, thousands of people have enjoyed access to the City’s parks, trails, playgrounds, athletic fields, and other amenities for many different forms of recreation. In that same time, the Parks, Recreation & Events Department has been busy providing 75 camps, overseeing more than 45 special event permits, while running various community events including Picnic in the Park, Play All Day, Day of Play, 4th of July Festivities, and many others. The Doris E. Buffett Pool saw over 14,000 visitors (79% percent of users being city residents) and the Saturday Farmer’s Market has grown to over 1,000 weekly shoppers.
All while these great accomplishments have been happening, parks and facilities have been repeatedly misused and damaged. Natural resources served as the blank canvas for graffiti, and destructive behavior in restrooms led to the need for fixture replacements and lengthy, unplanned closures. Vandals have damaged athletic fields and stolen personal belongings from people’s cars.
Fortunately, staff swiftly handled the repairs and restorations of park facilities they could with as little disruption to service as possible. But some issues are difficult to easily correct without closures, removals, and significant changes to plans and operations. Since June, the City has used over 65 hours of staff time for mitigation of these criminal acts. The Department reallocated funds reaching over $7,100 to cover materials, equipment, and contracted services. If it weren’t for these costly repairs, that time and money could have been invested into much more positive efforts such as providing more summer camps, adding a piece of playground equipment, park improvements, natural resource restoration, new sports leagues, or even new community events.
With so many wonderful spaces in this City and so many opportunities for enjoying nature, getting healthy, decompressing, and spending time with family/friends, it only makes sense to take care of them so that everyone benefits! Please give all the parks the respect and love they deserve! In addition to helping spread this message, please let the Parks, Recreation & Events Department know if you see anything that is not working properly, any vandalism or damage, or any misuse that can put the park and its users in a harmful situation. To make a report or find out more information, visit the website at FXBGparks.com or call 540-372-1086. Do your part to help take care of everyone’s parks.