Police are asking anyone with any information about the incident to contact Officer Pat Gerke at 707-778-4372.
Sometime between Friday night, Sept. 30, and Saturday morning, Oct. 1, thieves stole electrical wire and damaged several electrical boxes at the popular park on East Washington Street.
Police said six poles that provide lighting for the athletic fields had the wire removed. Wire that connected the poles was also taken. Police estimate that between 1,500 and 1,800 feet of wire was stolen.
Prince Park is one of Petaluma's few parks with lighted playing facilities, and is home to the Petaluma Parks and Recreation's popular softball leagues. The lighted fields are also used by youth soccer teams.
Scott Brodhun, Petaluma's assistant city manager, said it is unknown how long it will take to repair the damage. City maintenance workers have estimated the cost for repairs at around $5,000.
The wiring theft also caused two red beacon lights to stop functioning. The beacon lights, located on top of 85-foot poles, are used to warn aircraft approaching the nearby Petaluma airport that there is an obstruction in their flight path.
Police have said that copper is an especially attractive target for thieves because it has rapidly escalated in value, is relatively easy to dispose of, and is difficult to trace.
Brodhun said copper theft has become a big problem for the city.
“This is the first time I've heard of a park being hit, but we've seen wiring stolen from street lights and other areas,” he said.
“The money it takes to fix the damage is money we could be putting into park maintenance.”
In recent months, copper wiring has been taken from street lights, park trail lights, and copper piping has been stolen from rooftops.
In July, copper wire was stolen from the PG&E yard on Corona Road. It was the eighth time the PG&E site had been targeted in the last two years.
The theft of nearly 2,000 feet of copper wire from Prince Park have put a temporary halt to softball games at the Eastside park.
Last Friday, someone made off with up to 1,800 feet of wire taken from six light poles in the park, according to Assistant City Manager Scott Brodhun. That means games for the city's adult softball league will be cancelled until the lights can be repaired, hopefully as soon as this Thursday, although the rains may push the repairs into early next week.
Over the past year, the city has experienced an increase in copper thefts, but this is the first time a city park has been targeted, Brodhun said. Police estimate the value of taken wire at $5,000.
The theft also caused two red beacon lights on top of the light poles to shut down. Nearby Petaluma Airport had been using the beacon lights let aircraft know that there was an obstruction in their flight path and have yet to be repaired, said Bob Patterson, the airport manager.
However, there is no danger to planes that are taking off and landing, according to Patterson.
Police are asking anyone with any information about the incident to contact Officer Pat Gerke at 707-778-4372.
http://petaluma.patch.com
http://petaluma.patch.com
No comments:
Post a Comment