Park closes too early

6 months ago

To the editor:

People who read these letters to the editor regularly know that walking the streets of the Star City is part of my daily ritual, and going around Mantle Lake Park is part of my jaunt.

The park is beautiful, and I love the growing group of ducks, plus other wildlife that’s always part of the scenery, such as the scurrying squirrels and the very quick, hard-to-follow chipmunks whose tails are always at 12 o’clock high.

People visit the park regularly, spring, summer and fall. Fall, I believe, receives the greatest amount of visitors, probably because people realize the nice weather, especially nice warm weather, is fast disappearing.

Approximately halfway through September I noticed to my amazement and surprise that the water pump was wrapped up and the restrooms closed for the winter. The squirrel-feeding vending machines had also been removed. 

 My question to the city is, why close these so soon? There’s lots of good weather ahead and loads of visitors. Our weather forecasting is pretty good, so I think if a sudden cold front or nor’easter was in the future we’d have plenty of warning. So what’s the reason for closing things so early? Just curious. Thank you.

Clare Kierstead
Presque Isle