Cookeville Skate Park Closed Until Further Notice After Acts Of Vandalism

Cookeville closed the City Skate Park until further notice after vandals pulled bathroom stall dividers down, tore down signage, and damaged a picnic table.

This is the sixth time in the last month vandals have torn dividers out of the men’s restroom. Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said this type of vandalism is common in all of Cookeville’s parks. However, he said he has never seen it happen so consistently at one park.

“We can’t just continue to replace pieces and act like nothings happening,” Woods said. “So we really have to take some action and get the attention of the people who are doing it, and try to get some assistance with users of the skate park.”

Woods said he will keep the park closed until further notice. He said he is willing to reopen the park when someone is held accountable for the vandalism. He asked that users of the park come forward if they have any information. Cookeville police are investigating the vandalism.

“We can’t have a police officer in there all the time, and we wouldn’t want to,” Woods said. “We shouldn’t need to, that’s more important. We shouldn’t need to have security there at the skate park at all times.”

Woods said the damage was not expensive but is still frustrating.

“It costs quite a bit in terms of time and in terms of labor,” Woods said. “In terms of materials it is not extremely costly. We do have to replace panels. We do have to replace hardware. We have gone to purchasing hardware in bulk.”

Earlier this month vandals damaged property at several Cookeville parks over Labor Day Weekend. Notably, one of the incidents that occurred that weekend was stall dividers being torn off the Skate Park’s bathroom walls.

“Its very disappointing that they can’t find something better to do with their time,” Woods said. “That they feel like they have to destroy public property, and hurt the users of the skate park.”