The municipality's parks department is asking residents to keep their eyes peeled after vandalism at a Chatham park this week.
According to Chatham-Kent Parks and Horticulture Supervisor Deb Veccia, upwards of $7,000 worth of damage was caused after vandals struck Kingston Park.
Veccia said the municipality was alerted by a concerned citizen who came across the defacement, which she said most likely happened during the overnight hours of November 25.
According to Veccia, the culprit or culprits kicked down several light bollards along the pathway at the back end of the park.
"They basically destroyed the lights and they pulled the wire out of the lights, leaving them unusable," she explained.
A portable toilet was also knocked over and Veccia said the vandals tried to enter the building at Kingston Park near the splash pad.
Although shocking to see, Veccia said this is far from the first time something like this has happened at a Chatham-Kent park.
"It's not unfamiliar, to be honest. Our parks have been subject to vandals stealing copper wire from the lights in the past. My understanding is they take it to sell it and get money for it," Veccia said. "I was very disappointed this time."
According to Veccia, she's noticed an increase in vandalism incidents over the past few months. A few weeks ago, the municipality was subject to someone squashing garbage pails at three different parks across the municipality.
"It's very frustrating to say the least, as our staff try to keep our parks in great shape," she said. "More and more people are out using our parks because they need to get outside and get some fresh air during a tough time."
Veccia added that acts of vandalism negatively impact the budget and stretch staff members thin, especially during the winter months when fewer staffers are assigned to work in the municipal parks department.
"It makes it so we have to do more with less. It's senseless vandalism that costs everyone in the long run," she said.
According to Veccia, the police are contacted whenever vandalism occurs at municipal parks. She's also asking that members of the public stay alert for any suspicious activity and contact police immediately or inform the municipality to help deter any similar events from happening in the future.
"[Police] are helping us in this situation," she explained. "But, if we have eyes and ears out there, sometimes we hear through the grapevine who it was and then [police] can investigate after."
Blackburn News Chatham reached out to the Chatham-Kent Police Service for further comment, but did not hear back by the time this article was published.