Shelby playground’s new 'monster truck' gets early repairs
By David Jacobs
A featured piece of new playground equipment installed just months ago at Seltzer Park already required repairs, Shelby Parks Superintendent Jerry Marshall detailed to the Board of Park Commissioners.
The “monster truck,” part of a larger playground upgrade replacing structures dating back to 1968, had issues with its steering wheel and gas pedal.
“We had to install a replacement steering wheel on the monster truck that was broken off,” Marshall said at December’s monthly meeting. “The gas pedal also broke. We fixed that too."
Marshall described this as being in the cockpit area of the truck.
"They didn’t use very good fasteners in there — light screws or something came out…” Marshall said. The heavy-duty plastic broke off somehow, he added.
Shelby park board president Dave Downs said at the meeting: "I'm surprised the construction wasn't better."
Wheel falls off tractor
In separate remarks, Marshall said the park system's X750 lawn tractor was sent to Ag-Pro due to a broken left front wheel, costing $640.99 to repair.
"We kind of joke about keeping the equipment until the wheels fall off. Well, our accident finally happened,” Marshall said. "The wheel fell off. It had a broken front wheel going down the street."
No one was hurt.
Separately, the Shelby park system's 2520 tractor is headed to Ag-Pro this winter to have the brakes repaired. As of Dec. 9, plans were being made to pull the tractor out of service.
"It's kind of a safety issue," Marshall said.
The repair initial estimate is $2,000, records show.
"It's not so much the parts on this," Marshall said. "It's the labor. They have to pull both wheels and all of the stuff that goes with the wheels. It's very labor-intensive, I guess, to do this."
Additional park system updates included repairs to a broken valve in the pump house and replacement of a heater in the park garage-office, underscoring the ongoing maintenance needs of the city’s parks.
The Shelby park system is in winter-mode.
“The parks really never close,” Marshall said. “People can always use them. But from the restroom standpoint, we have all of the weather shut off and all of that. All restrooms are winterized.”