City incorporation has always had the same promoters and critics, but it usually revolves around those in an area feeling underrepresented and/or neglected by their county.  The other side of the coin: as more cities flee the governance of the county, those most often in the poorest areas are usually left in the lurch, with even fewer tax dollars to deal with the numerous problems that effect them.

But DeKalb continues to make it really difficult to justify anyone stay under county control.  To go along with the recently reported overpayment of contractors, fellow blogger John at Dunwoody North has been doing some excellent digging into the safety of county parks and passed along an email thread regarding neighboring Medlock Park, which he received by filing an open records request.

John informs us that the county claims to inspect all playgrounds on a weekly basis.  As the situation at Medlock Park shows (after the jump), that doesn’t seem to be the case.

After a concerned parent complained to the county that barriers around the “big slides” at Medlock had become unsafe, Kathy Gannon’s office sent Deputy Director Gary Dalton out to the site and here is his March 18th report.

“I went out to the site on yesterday and observed that several metal platform decks on the play structure have deteriorated to an unsafe condition.  The vinyl coating has worn away from the platforms, exposing the bare metal to moisture.  This has caused the metal to weaken over time in numerous areas, including a 3”-4” diameter hole forming in one of the upper platforms, along with numerous cracks and exposure of rusty, sharp metal edges.   

Temporary panels were initially installed by staff to block access to damaged platforms, until it could be replaced.  Subsequently, someone has tampered with one of the panels, causing it to fall out of position.  This panel was re-attached this afternoon.  However, due to the amount of wear and tear and high use of this play structure, it is recommended that we close this entire structure to public access.  

We have been in communication with the equipment manufacturer who indicated it will take approximately 4 weeks to replace platforms, after receipt of order.  We are prepared to submit a purchase requisition to Purchasing Dept. this week for replacement.  Estimated Cost: $17,000

Due to age, wear and tear of our playgrounds county-wide, I anticipate there will be a need in the very near future for additional replacements, or risk closing of playgrounds.”

Not good.  But what’s the solution?  Well, maybe if the county stopped, for instance, overpaying its contractors there might be enough left over to monitor and maintain its playgrounds before someone’s child gets hurt.

What a mess.