Crestwood Ward 4 Alderman Tony Kennedy said at the city’s September Board of Aldermen meeting that he is concerned about the appearance of the city, from fire hydrants to basketball hoops at city parks.
At the Sept. 22 meeting, Kennedy said he had noticed rusty and unpainted fire hydrants around the city, as well as nets missing from the basketball hoops at Crestwood Park.
“I’m frustrated that we have a lot of fire hydrants in Crestwood that are still rusty and not painted,” said Kennedy. “I also noticed … there’s two basketball hoops (and) there’s no nets. It’s embarrassing that there’s no nets on the hoops. The rims are crooked.”
Kennedy also pointed out that the signage as you pull into the parking lot at Crestwood Park was also crooked and in need of touch-ups.
“I feel frustrated that we should do a better job as a city to make sure our signage is pristine, that we leave a good impression to our visitors of the city,” Kennedy said. “Can the staff look at signage, our hoops, our hydrants and just really try to up our game?”
Ward 1 Alderman Mimi Duncan disagreed with Kennedy’s assessment of the city’s appearance, pointing out that her neighborhood had “lots going on. A lot of change in ownership, a lot of upgrading in housing stock.”
City Administrator Kris Simpson said hydrants fall under the purview of Missouri American Water and that as far as he was aware, the water company had secured the funding to repaint the fire hydrants. He requested that Kennedy provide him and city staff with an email with more maintenance specifics he wants around the city.
“We’ve received word recently that they (Missouri American Water) have the funding once again for fire hydrant painting. … They should be painted. I don’t know if we have an exact time table,” said Simpson. “Generally speaking, when they’ve indicated they have the funding to do it, they get around to do it. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.”
Simpson later told The Call that the fire hydrants mentioned by Kennedy were reported to Missouri American Water, but that they were actually located outside of Crestwood city limits and therefore have not been reinspected because they are outside the city’s oversight.
Simpson added that the basketball nets were on the city’s maintenance project list, but that the financial impact of COVID-19 has created a backlog of projects and a hiring freeze. He expects the nets to be investigated by the first quarter of next year.
To see photos of the basketball hoops at Crestwood Park, see the below gallery:
