Marble Hill closes park hydrants; buys drinking fountains

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- People planning a picnic in any of Marble Hill's parks will be unable to rinse off dishes, wash children's hands and faces or use the parks' water hydrants for any reason.

Thanks to vandalism and misuse, and the expenses associated with it, the hydrants have been locked down permanently. The board of aldermen on Monday night agreed to replace the hydrants with four drinking fountains. Only one hydrant will remain in use -- the hydrant next to the horse arena. Board members agreed that anyone who might need to wash can always use the bathrooms in the park, which are maintained daily.

Closing the hydrants already has upset some residents, such as Ray Steger, who complained to the board that his wife reserved a pavilion in Twin City Park before the hydrants were locked, and found out there was no water during a birthday party for his granddaughter and about 25 other children, along with a dozen or so adults. No one had told him the water would not be available, and no one in the city would unlock the hydrant no matter how many people he called that day. As for washing up in the public bathrooms in the park, Steger said he would be reluctant to herd 25 children into a park bathroom "not knowing what kind of shape it's in."

Steger said he came to offer a solution, not just to complain. Why not, he said, provide a key to the hydrant and charge a deposit for it when someone reserves a park pavilion. They would have access to water and would return the key to city hall after the event and get the deposit back once the hydrant is locked again.

"That's just good old Bollinger County common sense, as far as I'm concerned," Steger said.

City administrator Tammy Whitney said that wouldn't solve the whole problem for the city. The biggest problem, she said, is vandalism or misuse of the hydrants. A park hydrant was left running one weekend resulting in a loss of 550,000 gallons of water. The cost of that loss comes to about $5,000, she said.

Water use is high in all city parks, Whitney said the next day. "We lose an average of 15,000 to 20,000 gallons per park per month," she said. Four parks have hydrants -- Twin City, Magnolia, Baseball Park and Pellegrino.

Built-in water waste is another way the city loses money. Whitney said the hydrants tend to gush at first, and when children use them to get a drink during baseball games, "we lose gallons before we can knock it down enough to get a drink."

Four supposedly vandal-proof drinking fountains were approved for purchase from the water and sewer department's capital improvement fund. They are expected to be delivered and installed during this week.

Later, Alderman Kenneth Trentham made a formal motion to refund the $20 park fee to Steger to compensate for the inconvenience of not having water. Trentham and Alderwoman Beverly Johnson voted in favor of the refund.

City attorney Alan Beussink cautioned the board not to set any precedents.

Whitney noted that Steger said in his presentation to the board that he had intended to use the hydrant to fill water balloons, which is not an approved use of the hydrant and would result in waste. Alderwoman Debra Acup and Alderman Charles Fisher voted against the refund and Mayor Nick Hendricks broke the tie by voting no.

Pertinent address:

Marble Hill, MO