City of Bellingham considers extra level of security after another park is vandalized

Bellingham is looking to hire extra parks staff and planning to have locked gates at some locations because of persistent overnight vandalism, the Parks and Recreation Department director said.

Parks officials were considering the extra security measures after someone drove across the grass at Boulevard Park on Nov. 12, creating deep ruts and causing “significant damage” to the lawn, parks director Nicole Oliver told The Bellingham Herald.

Another incident, which occurred last weekend at Lake Padden Park, strengthened the case for closure gates and overnight personnel.

“We really need to start closing the gates, especially at the nighttime hours. That’s when it’s happening. We’re hoping to add more (staff) capacity in the evenings to secure the park with gates,” Oliver said in an interview.

Oliver said that adding staff at night would require adjusting labor contracts, but said that action was likely in early 2024.

In last weekend’s incident, at least one car or truck was driven across the ball fields near the dog park at Lake Padden, and also on the lawn at the west entrance gates, Oliver said.

Damage won’t be repaired until spring and will require leveling and seeding at a cost of $2,000 to $3,000 for each location, she said.

The incident at Boulevard, which is along the city’s waterfront between downtown and Fairhaven, was reported quickly.

But officials are unsure when the damage occurred at Lake Padden, a 745-acre park on the city’s southeast edge. Its location is remote enough to require heightened security, Oliver said.

“At least there’s a lot more eyes on (Boulevard Park). At Padden, there’s no eyes.”