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    Riverton mayor hopes splash pad will help cut down on City Park alcohol problem; Nearby resident concerned

    At the Tuesday, August 7th Riverton City Council meeting, a Riverton resident addressed council members and Mayor John “Lars” Baker about concerns she had regarding the Riverton City Park.

    Debbie A. told the council she lived directly across the street from City Park on Fremont Street,

    I love the City Park, but it broke my heart the other day when my son came up from Casper and they wouldn’t let my granddaughter go over there and play because of the stuff that goes on at the park, she was broken-hearted.

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    She continued to describe the situations she see’s often at the park,

    It’s pretty bad, there’s people over there drunk every day, they’re fighting every day, they urinate openly, everywhere, there’s little kids there seeing this daily. Ambulances are over there daily, theres blood going everywhere, there’s nudity. The kids are my main concern there, it isn’t a good environment for them at all. They approach everybody that walks into that park, be it a kid or adult, asking for money, alcohol, drugs. I see it every day because I do live across the street.”

    Debbie concluded that she would “love to see a solution to this” and asked the council for help solving the ongoing issues.

    Mayor Baker took a few moments to respond,

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    Be assured that, that’s a concern of ours too, and we attempt in every way we can to enforce the law to the fullest extent.
    The mayor also said that he believes increased traffic to the park will help extinguish some of the alcohol usage and violence in what is a focal point of downtown Riverton,
    Having the skate park there has made a huge difference, in the fact that it brings a lot of people to the park, and having the splash pad will bring more and more people into the park.
    The Riverton Splash Pad project has been in the works for a couple years now, and is expected to be available for park-goers next summer. The splash pad will be located just north of the park playground, and to the east of the skatepark. Project organizer Kristina Olson recently told County 10 the splash pad will be, “right under a light, surveillance camera, and phone.”
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