SOUTHWICK – Prifti Park is temporarily closed.
The Board of Selectmen this week made the decision to close it effective immediately after learning about several issues there.
The Park and Recreation Commission alerted the Board to code concerns.
“They would like to take it offline until we can see what needs to be done,” said Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart. “They would like to bring in the Mass Office of Disability and our insurer to do an assessment.”
Stinehart said the swing set could be an issue, as well as the proximity of equipment to the fence and the amount of items in the playground. Prifti Park is owned by the town, but is not technically a park. The Commission has been working on having it named a true park.
Selectmen Joseph Deedy, Douglas Moglin and Russell Fox agreed they needed to address the problems, but were also worried that closing it would be an inconvenience to families.
“A lot of kids use it every day,” said Moglin.
Fox said they had little choice in the matter.
“We have to take steps to protect the Town of Southwick,” said Fox. “Now that we have this information, I think we have to temporarily close it.”
Moglin and Deedy agreed, but asked Stinehart to expedite the assessment and any improvements to get it open again as soon as possible.
“I hate to see it close,” said Deedy.
Prifti Park is located behind Southwick Town Hall and includes a playground and field.
