PIQUA — City officials are seeing an uptick in vandalism, and the damage is costing them.
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“We want to say to the young people in our community, ‘we want you in the parks. We want you to enjoy them. But certainly that can be done without damaging things,” Piqua Assistant City Manager Amy Welker said.
A city worker found the men’s and women’s bathrooms at Lock 9 destroyed.
Sink faucets, soap dispensers, and other bathroom fixtures were damaged.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, city officials said the scene is becoming too common.
“This year we have had a rash of more severe vandalism that has caused significant damage and again, a lot of money and resources,” Welker said.
So far in 2025, Piqua’s Parks and Recreation Department has spent more than $8,000 on repairing and cleaning vandalism.
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Piqua police said four children between the ages of 11 and 17-years-old are responsible for the damage.
City officials said they are facing felony charges for damaging government property.
“This is a very visible park. It’s a part of our downtown. We’re very proud of it. To have vandalism happen here is just unfortunate,” Welker said.
The vandalism did not just stay inside the bathroom.
About seven panels of fencing were destroyed shortly after the vandalism in the bathroom.
“We have our great performance pavilion as one of the amenities here. We have a great concert series that is happening. So as this vandalism happens, it creates a situation where we have to shut down our public restrooms,” Welker said.
City officials are working to quickly repair the damage.
We will continue to follow this story.
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