Tamaqua Borough Council ordered the South Ward Playground to close until a number of safety issues are addressed.

The decision came after council heard a request from the Revive Community Fellowship church to hold activities at the playground in June.

“There’s got to be some things done at that playground before there starts being any kind of activities,” Councilman Ron Bowman said. “There are a lot of unsafe things, a lot of things that could cause injuries. In all honesty, the place should be locked.”

Bowman explained that about a dozen busted receptacle boxes are “sticking out of the ground” at the playground. If a child falls on one of the box posts, he said, he could lose an eye.

“There are so many things at that park right now that I feel if I had a young child, I wouldn’t even let them in,” Bowman said. “I hate to be the one to say that but the place is deplorable, it’s horrible and it’s being completely ignored.”

In addition to the safety concerns, he said grass isn’t cut, and sidewalks are seldom shoveled.

Bowman said council members met with playground committee members about a year ago, and showed them a list of items that needed to be addressed.

“Absolutely nothing has been done,” he claimed.

Council President Brian Connely initially suggested sending a letter to the committee, asking them to reorganize and appoint new officers.

But Councilman Ritchie Linkhorst questioned whether the borough, which owns the playground, would be held liable if someone is injured there.

“Do we allow it to stay open now that we basically are aware of (the conditions)?” Linkhorst asked.

Borough solicitor Anthony Odorizzi said the borough could be held liable.

“Well, then you force a hand, you send a letter and lock the gates,” Connely said. “The quicker (the committee) reorganizes and gets on board, the faster we can unlock it and open it up.”

Bowman’s motion to lock the park was seconded by Linkhorst and passed unanimously.

As for the request from Revive Community Fellowship, council will recommend that the church consider using another borough playground until the South Ward issues are resolved.