Vandals force parish council to close park

The mayor of May Pen, Scean Barnswell, said the council has been forced to close the gates of one of its flagship parks in the parish of Clarendon because of vandalism.

Located at the Mineral Heights roundabout in May Pen, the park has a grove of palm trees preening the sky and lush green grass around its perimeters.

Barnswell told THE WEEKEND STAR that the park was refurbished in to 2008 and a fence was erected to keep out goats and cows.

"From time to time, we have various vandalisms. Sometimes will have palm trees missing, irrigation pipes missing, and so we had to close the park," Barnswell said.

"One of the reasons for closing the park as well is because of the heavy traffic in the area, so we encourage persons to use the Abner Wright Park at the intersection of Bustamante Highway and Four parts."

Barnswell said that since the park closed its gates, the council has been able to be maintain the property, and now it attracts residents from across the parish.

"Residents come to us from time to time to use it for weddings and graduations photographs," Barnswell said.

He explained that one of the reasons the park is well kept is because of the passion of the horticulturalist who maintains it.

"He really knows what he is doing. He is very passionate about what he doesthe way he prunes the plants," Barnswell explained.

"It is something that we are looking at as how to keep our parks across the parish."

According to Barnswell, the park is maintained by the Clarendon parish council, and the maintenance cost is from the property tax.