I’m a mother from the Land Park neighborhood. In the latest park surveys, our district had the highest ratings for park satisfaction. I may be biased but Belle Cooledge Park has the best community. A group of caregivers and their children meet daily here for play dates, socialization, and Storytime. A nanny disclosed to us parents that she had been seeing the same unhoused individuals using our favorite playground structure as a bathroom facility multiple times a week for months early in the morning before our play dates. Yesterday, Monday Sept. 25, 2023, the same individuals did their same routine exposing themselves to children. The women have been seen entering and exiting a residency across the street of the park. Police have been notified. The park dept did an excellent job of cleaning the play ground structure promptly. The neighborhood watch has advised us to just keep calling 311 to report the behavior but that won’t prevent the situation from happening again.
The parks belong to all community members including the unhoused population. We need outdoor bathroom facilities at our beloved Belle Cooledge Park. We are a diverse group of families. More policing in our neighborhood isn’t a solution that would benefit us as stakeholders.
Can you provide insight to what my community partners and I can do to get bathroom facilities at our park ASAP? Is there a city council meeting coming up with park bathrooms on the agenda? What is the timeline for a resolution?
Thank you for your time and looking forward to continuing this conversation,
Mrs. Sophia Bell Baggenstos
Hello,
I’m a mother from the Land Park neighborhood. In the latest park surveys, our district had the highest ratings for park satisfaction. I may be biased but Belle Cooledge Park has the best community. A group of caregivers and their children meet daily here for play dates, socialization, and Storytime. A nanny disclosed to us parents that she had been seeing the same unhoused individuals using our favorite playground structure as a bathroom facility multiple times a week for months early in the morning before our play dates. Yesterday, Monday Sept. 25, 2023, the same individuals did their same routine exposing themselves to children. The women have been seen entering and exiting a residency across the street of the park. Police have been notified. The park dept did an excellent job of cleaning the play ground structure promptly. The neighborhood watch has advised us to just keep calling 311 to report the behavior but that won’t prevent the situation from happening again.
The parks belong to all community members including the unhoused population. We need outdoor bathroom facilities at our beloved Belle Cooledge Park. We are a diverse group of families. More policing in our neighborhood isn’t a solution that would benefit us as stakeholders.
Can you provide insight to what my community partners and I can do to get bathroom facilities at our park ASAP? Is there a city council meeting coming up with park bathrooms on the agenda? What is the timeline for a resolution?
Thank you for your time and looking forward to continuing this conversation,
Mrs. Sophia Bell Baggenstos