After a piece of musical equipment at MyBackyard Playground suffered significant damage as a result of vandalism, the Great Bend Recreation Commission board began discussing different options for replacing the piece at its meeting Monday afternoon.

While no quote has yet been received for repairing or replacing the damaged piece of equipment, Executive Director Diann Henderson advised the board there may be several options on the equipment, with costs ranging from around $3,000 up to nearly $10,000, depending on which direction the board opted to go.

Henderson said no quotes have been received, and no decision made, but wanted to bring options for repairing or replacing the existing Pegasus metallophone through the manufacturer Freenotes.

The initial option the Rec was looking at is replacing the damaged key base at an estimated cost of $3,000-$4,000. Henderson said they have not been able to obtain an exact quote to this point from the manufacturer, though, on this piece due to manufacturing delays as a result of COVID-19.

One reason Henderson said she was looking at this option is the estimated cost is equivalent to what the Rec originally paid when it purchased the equipment several years ago. Because of cost increases over the years since its purchase, Henderson said, the cost to replace the entire piece of equipment with a piece the same size as the Pegasus, would be $8,000-$10,000.

Henderson said, procedurally, any purchase below $5,000 would not require board approval. Any purchase above $5,000 requires board approval.

Because of that, another option Henderson presented the board was to purchase a smaller piece of equipment to replace the current damaged equipment in order to stay within the $3,000-$5,000 cost range that was originally paid.

Another factor in the decision of which direction to go was the fact that the potential smaller replacement piece would not have the same range of tones as what is currently at the park, and whether or not that would be a significant concern for those who use the equipment.

Though in favor of replacing the equipment with another piece of equipment, board member Sue Cooper expressed frustration over the situation.

“It is a little distasteful that we have to keep replacing equipment rather than expanding because of the vandalism,” Cooper said.

In response, Henderson noted there were other newer pieces of equipment available with funding available in the capital outlay budget if the board felt it was appropriate to replace it. She said she could bring back other quotes to the board if they deemed this a viable option in regards to both budget and space.

“If replacing it goes beyond a certain budget, I would be inclined to consider other alternatives,” board member Dr. Jonathan Pike said. “It’s frustrating, because its not just normal wear and tear.”

In response, Henderson said she would explore further options and bring those options back before the board at the October meeting.

The wider vandalism issue

In the discussions, however, Henderson noted the Pegasus metallophone was not the only equipment which had experienced damage due to vandalism.

Among items vandalized are mallets that periodically broken or cut off the other pieces of musical equipment. She told the board the Rec keeps a supply of mallets in the event they are damaged or removed. She noted at times they have found mallets that have been intentionally removed and found at other locations on the playground.

Also, Henderson said the Rec has had to replace damaged tops on a series of multi-colored drums at the playground. Recently, ink was also discovered smeared on some of those drum tops, as well as on the picnic tables in the pavilion of the playground.

Rec maintenance staff has been able to clean those to the point that none of those pieces need to be replaced at this time.

Upon hearing this, board Chairperson Bruce Hoefeling asked if video cameras installed at the playground had been able to catch any of the vandals in the act. Henderson replied that some had been caught on video, and they had notified local law enforcement.