By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Well, that didn’t take long.
Less than three days after the large wooden playground structure at Otsego’s Northside Park was engulfed in flames—the result of suspected arson—the park was open to the public once again.
The fire took place shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 2, and the park was reopened by noon on Thursday, Sept. 4.
“Thanks to the hard work and quick thinking of our DPW, the park is back open,” Otsego City Manager Aaron Mitchell said in a post on the City’s Facebook page. “Pretty amazing to take this tape down less than 60 hours after putting it up.
“Charred and burnt equipment was demolished and removed along with the contaminated wood chips. There is some thick dirt that should be avoided (perfectly safe, just muddy), but otherwise have fun.”
The fact that Otsego Director of Public Works Mike Bosch was out of town on vacation made the quick turnaround even more impressive, according to Mitchell.
“What a whirlwind,” he said. “It was not the ideal week for the playground to be set on fire, with Mike being out of town. And if you know Mike, you know that he handles these unplanned situations very well.
“The good news is that he trained his entire team to be just as responsive and flexible to their work.”
Foreman Todd Curry took control of the team in Bosch’s absence and was able to assess the damage, remove the damaged equipment and make the necessary repairs to assure its safety.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” Mitchell said. “And that’ not to mention the fact that the DPW team did not miss any other scheduled projects for the week.”
Given the importance of the park to the community, Mitchell was thrilled to have it reopen so quickly.
“These beautiful September days are incredibly precious, and I know many will want to get out there as much as possible before the weather turns,” he said. “I was incredibly excited to get it open as soon as we did.”
The City continues to work with its insurance provider to expedite the repair and rebuild of the damaged portion of the playground structure.
“Going forward, we will begin the planning of the rebuild for the destroyed portion of the playground,” Mitchell said. “At this point, we will be hoping to get the project started and completed in the early spring.
“As decisions are finalized, we will be notifying the community.”
