Dear Editor:
At the last council meeting of the mayor and council during Remarks of Citizens, I had the floor and was advised that I would only have five minutes to speak. Can this be legal in the U.S.A., especially when an open door policy was promised at election time by you Dennis when you ran for mayor; how soon we forget. I proceeded to address the mayor and council on the major design and construction flaws at the new amphitheater at Buchmuller Park at a cost of over one million dollars. I gave pictures showing major flaws at this site. Among other things, the most obvious problems are:
1) Stage is not handicapped accessible; 2) Double egress doors leading into a staircase which is a possible code violation; 3) Flooding of 1 to 2 feet after a heavy rainfall due to poor drainage; 4) Visual cracks throughout stage, building and seating area; 5) Trim around doors not finished or secured properly; 6) Ground area next to rear wall is starting to sink due to flooding; 7) Senior citizens have fallen leaving the theater because of seating area flaws.
I believe the concept of the stage, lighting and amplification so that our town people can enjoy the park is a plus for our community but to spend over a million dollars and have all these problems is unacceptable. As a footnote to the above, the money spent on this project was originally earmarked, as we were told, for a new ladder truck for Washington Hook and Ladder but when the question arose, the officers were told that Allied Junction will buy one for our fire company.
I hope the mayor and council will give due consideration to the facts stated above and have the construction flaws and violations corrected at once.
George H. Heflich, Sr.