Recent flooding could cost the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department hundreds of thousands of dollars in clean-up and lost revenue.
The parks near Fort Wayne’s rivers are designed to flood – they work as reservoirs to protect property.
While many parks have been reopened this week after recent heavy rains, portions of Foster and Swinney Park remain under water, and in need of extensive clean up.
Parks Director Al Moll says the problem isn’t insurmountable.
“We’ll recover from everything, it’s just how long it’s going to take," Moll said. "The case in point is Foster Park: we’ve had to cease golf operations out there.”
Moll says the golf course may be closed another three to four weeks, costing up to $150,000 in lost revenue. Tack on another potential $100,000 in clean up, and that’s a quarter-million dollar hit to the Parks Department.
Moll says Parks doesn’t plan for floods, and just needs to absorb the costs into its budget. This week’s cleanup will entail property restoration, planting grass, and sanitizing playgrounds and pavilions.