Reader Laments Renzie Maintenance

Category: Another Viewpoint || By Letters

(The following is a submitted commentary. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the board of directors of Tube City Community Media Inc.)

On Tuesday, I came to McKeesport to see my young daughter. I took her to Renzie Park to spend the evening. I was completely appalled and disheartened at what I saw of what I thought to be a jewel for the area that held so many fond memories. Aside from "Olympic Corner," it looks like a disaster.

I decided to take her first to the softball fields and catch some baseball. As we drove up, the driveway has been recovered in extremely heavy rocks leading to a (drilling) operation. Impossible for my car to manage, we had to stop and turn around.

I then thought it would be nice to show her the Sulphur Springs where the water comes out orange. I remember how intrigued I was at this when I was young. Imagine my dismay to find it flooded, overgrown and forgotten. Apparently is it no longer considered part of the park. Perhaps it is a holding pond for the drilling above it.

I also noticed that the "turnaround" area itself was completely void of any maintenance.

I told my daughter nevermind, and we went over to the Lickert fitness trail. Mr. Lickert would cry if he saw this "thing" with his name on it. It was a complete disaster with many fixtures broken or missing.

Needless to say, with so many people using the park, it is very sad to see it in such poor shape.

Just thought I would pass it along to someone who might give a hoot.

As we were leaving, my daughter wanted to look at the park map. HA! It still shows the swimming pool! It's also broken and "abandoned." In more than 30 years, no one has had a few hours to update the map?

Adam Spate
North Huntingdon, Pa.

Editor's Note: This letter to the editor was also sent to Mayor Michael Cherepko.

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The preceding was a guest commentary. Responsible replies are welcome.

Tube City Community Media is committed to printing viewpoints from residents of the McKeesport area and surrounding municipalities. Commentaries are accepted at the discretion of the editor and may be edited for content or length.

To submit a commentary for consideration, please write to P.O. Box 94, McKeesport 15134, or email tubecitytiger -at - gmail -dot- com. Include contact information and your real name. A pen name may be substituted with approval of the editor.

CORRECTION, NOT PERFECTION: This article was posted with an incorrect city of residence for the writer.

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We wanted to meet some friends that still live in the area because we hadn’t been back in a while. We paid to rent one of the pavilions at Renzie.
Broken glass littered the ground, the pavilion had a dangerously high drop off, and an old man yelled at us from his car in the street demanding to see our ID and permit.
Renzie park is just another symbol of a broken city allowed to rot.
Chuck Michalik - June 01, 2012

About the only thing nice in that park is the tennis courts. Even then they are not maintained very well. Specifically the back 2 courts, they have a bunch of old dead leaves laying around which will just end up rotting the court.
pavelbure - June 03, 2012

I agree that Renzie seems to have fallen a bit as far as maintenance. But, seeing as we all know that McKeesport is hurting as far as income, why is it that everyone wants to complain but no one wants to chip in and help?

I am wondering if the people complaining are even tax-paying McKeesport residents?

To the person visiting Sulfer Springs – seeing as your daughter lives in the area, did you consider volunteering to unclog the drains and cut weeds to bring that area back to its original splendor?

To the person complaining of broken glass and litter at the pavillion….did you get a broom and clean it up so the next person wouldn’t have to deal with it?

To the person complaining about leaves on the tennis court….do you come back with a broom or rake and move them so the court could be preserved and not “rot” like you pointed out would happen?

Why not?

Things like Sulfer Springs and the fitness trail all cost money to maintain and they were previously put into place due to people making donations, etc. and some money from the state.

Unfortunately when money is tight and you have to decide between paying for upkeep of places like Sulfer Springs or a tennis court versus keeping the city offices open and functioning, guess what wins?

No one wants to pay more in taxes to maintain places like Renzie…in fact people make quite a stink over a lousy possible .5% when it is suggested. But everyone is quick to complain when the “extras” in a city fall into disrepair.

Everyone feels they are too busy to help and that they pay enough in taxes that everything should be perfect. But we all have time to complain.

Well, consider that if everyone feels that way, who is left to donate time and money to keep these sorts of places nice?

Put your money where your mouth is and either donate money toward keeping up the facility you want to enjoy or pitch in with labor and help keep it maintained.

I am pretty sure that if you volunteer to help maintain these areas, the city will greet you with open arms.

It will bring you pride in your community and it will help out your city or that of your loved ones, and make it nice for them.

As long as everyone thinks that keeping things “right” is the other guy’s job, it will always be this way.
shadango - June 04, 2012

I am disappointed to read that Renzie is not being maintained. Recognizing that budget issues are everywhere and “the good old days” are long gone one would think that maintaining this resourse would be a high priority on everyone’s list.

I look forward to visiting the park around the 4th of July to hear a concert and enjoy the fireworks again. I hope the grounds are in better shape than being reported in this web site.

Anyone have suggestions on how volunteers or organizations can help? Don’t we have a big problem of too many young guys with too much time on their hands? Where is the leadership in the City? Where are the Boy Scouts or similar groups who may be willing to spend time cleaning up the park?

As always, there are two sides to every story — I am anxious to read what the City officials have to say.

Renzie Park is a gem — please don’t let it fade into blight.
Donn Nemchick - June 04, 2012

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- March 14, 2014

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