Warsaw Parks Board Hears About Vandalism At Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion

The Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board heard about vandalism at Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion, which happened Monday.
At the board's meeting on Tuesday, Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board Member Michelle Boxell asked for an update about the damage.
Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer said parks staff found the damage in the morning on Tuesday.
"Both exterior restrooms were vandalized at the pavilion," he said. "They tore the toilet paper machines off the wall and the soap dispensers off the wall. The baby changing stations, they ruined those."
"They emptied all the toilet paper and put it all over the stalls and tried to stuff all the toilets and turned the water on in all the sinks, tried to flood the place," Plummer continued. "When we walked in there, it was disgusting."
Plummer noted that the city "did so much to improve that facility, and then you go in and find something like that."
He said the parks department sent video surveillance footage to the Warsaw Police Department.
"It appears to be a youth," he said of the suspect. "We're hoping that the school resource officers can help us identify who they are."

    Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department staff member Parker Shoemaker (R) won the department's Distributor of Smiles Award for September. With Shoemaker is Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer. Photo Provided.
  

Plummer said the damage appears to be between $1,300 and $1,500.
He noted the outdoor restroom hours at the pavilion going forward will be 8 a.m. to noon, with the bathrooms locked afterward.
In other business, the board:
• Heard that Plummer wants to have board members approve park facility rental rates for 2025 at the board's next meeting set for Tuesday, Nov. 19 at Warsaw City Hall. That meeting will start at 5:15 p.m.
• Heard that parks staff member Parker Shoemaker won the department's Distributor of Smiles Award for September.
• Heard from Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner that workers finished putting in new benches at Bixler Park.
• Heard from Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer that around 2,500 people attended Fall Family Fun at Lucerne Park on Oct. 4, which was "a record number of people." She said normally there's only "1,500 to 1,800 people" at that event. She noted parks staff is planning ahead for next year what be done to accommodate a large crowd.