City of Yuma News Release yumaaz.gov Twitter: @cityofyuma Facebook: City of Yuma Government Mayor addresses issues related to playground fire, reconstruction Donations, insurance, status of pickets among items discussed Yuma, Ariz. – Since the destruction of the Stewart Vincent Wolfe Creative Playground by fire on the night of Dec. 28, many questions and speculation have filled conversations from social media to office water coolers. Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls issued the following statement today to address issues related to the fire and its aftermath. I have been frustrated as much as anyone in understanding the motivation behind the event. Now that we have had some time, I thought I would take a moment to share some of the answers I do have. Do we know who did this and why? The City of Yuma Police and Fire departments have been working on that question since the call first came into 911. At this time, the investigation is still active and ongoing. The police department has released a video of a person arriving and leaving the castle park immediately before the fire began. You can view this video on the City’s website atyumaaz.gov or on the City’s Facebook page, City of Yuma Government. If you have any information at all please call 78-CRIME (782-7463) or YPD Detective Fell at (928) 373-4744. What will happen at the site? It was clear to me from the beginning due to the popularity of the park and deep and strong emotional connection to the community, the castle must be rebuilt. The process will take some time and a lot of effort, but there is no doubt in my mind that it will occur. The original architect will be on site this week to help formulate the reconstruction plans. The State of Arizona prison inmate worker program has already volunteered some labor hours to assist. The reconstruction labor is anticipated to be volunteers from around the community like the original build of the park. Watch for more information to come in the future on how to volunteer. What will happen to the personalized fence pickets and bricks that were damaged? Preliminarily it looks like all the bricks with donors names were not damaged and will remain on site. I cannot say the same about the fence pickets. Several dozen pickets were completely destroyed by the fire. Of the remaining pickets, almost all of them have heat damage and have experienced some melting and discoloration. All of the pickets with legible names will be salvaged and stored. The City will contact the donors in the next month or so to come and pick up their pickets if they would like to have them. How can I contribute to the reconstruction effort? Donations can be made at the Foothills Bank, Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area office or the following City offices: Yuma Civic Center, Yuma Art Center, and the Water Service counter and Parks and Recreation counter at City Hall. People and organizations have already contributed funds toward the reconstruction. Currently, contributions total over $15,000 and are growing every day. While the City has not requested these contributions, it is a great showing of support and means people are bonding together to deal with this tragedy in our community. Should the funds raised exceed the funds needed to rebuild the park, the remaining funds will only be used for other improvements at the castle park, to either expand the facilities or add new features. Funds will not be diverted to other projects. Is the park insured? Monday after the fire the City did submit a claim to the insurance carrier. This process is not expected to be quick. It will take some time to determine exactly what will be covered. I hope I was able to answer some of the questions around the community. We will release more information as it becomes available. Thank you for staying United for Yuma. --Mayor Douglas Nicholls
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 23:19:52 +0000
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