Weather and the mulch supplier are being blamed as the reasons the Weissport Playground is not open.

Sue Pywar, member of Weissport Council and coordinator of the playground project, said Monday during a regular council meeting that the playground project is on hold because she has not heard what the mulch supplier, National Sales and Supply - Majestic Rubber, 3800 Marshall Lane, Quad A, Bensalem, PA 19020, wants to do with the mulch that is spread on the playground surface that is embedded with metal wires.George Ely Associates, the company that provided the playground equipment, is assisting Weissport in getting the situation remedied. He informed Weissport last month that the installer the company uses for playground projects, Lowell Hartzell, is scheduled to do the work and will be removing the existing mulch from the playground.Pywar noted that weather is also playing a role in the hold up.The playground supplier informed council last month that the existing mulch will be taken to either a landfill or returned to the manufacturer for salvage. New painted black rubber nuggets will be provided for Hartzell to install on the playground.Gene Kershner, councilman, said that he attended a meeting of the Lehigh Canal Recreation Commission and that at the meeting he heard that five benches were destroyed, markers were ripped out and that the observation deck was vandalized. Kershner questioned whether local police are still making patrols.Tim Rehrig, council president, said that local police, including Weissport's officer, are patrolling the parking lot, but that the actors go into the woods when police arrive. Rehrig noted that the pavilion is being used by people drinking beer, which he said he determined by the garbage left behind.Rehrig asked the borough worker to make sure and that trash cans are emptied in the pavilion areaKershner suggested that possibly video cameras be used to catch the vandalism on camera.Dana Brubaker, secretary, said that since sending out letters to overdue garbage customers, she has received $6,100 in payments. She noted that people who owe from several years have made no effort to pay.