Brookside Park cleared of graffiti, damage

Just several weeks after bringing the condition of Brookside Park to the Sussex Borough Council’s attention, the secretary of the Sussex-Wantage Little League was back before the council appreciative that graffiti was removed but continued to push for cameras in the park.

League secretary Ben Cerutti came before the council on September 6 reporting graffiti on the dugout walls and the walls outside the concession stand.

“I don’t know how they did it or who was literally responsible, but thank you,” Cerutti said. “The dugout, [fall] opening day, we were down there, and you couldn’t tell anything was ever done there. Whoever was on top of that, we appreciate it.”

Cerutti also followed up on a previous request for cameras at the park and the passage of an ordinance that would close the park at a certain time to keep “some of the folks” from hanging out there.

Borough administrator Antoinette Smith said the biggest problem with cameras was reviewing the footage, as the borough’s staff is small, and she doesn’t have the manpower to task someone with that job.

“You’re talking about a timeframe when you guys leave at 3:30 p.m. until someone comes in at 7 a.m.,” she said. “That’s 16 hours of footage that someone will have to review to find out when the damage was done.”

Cerutti said some cameras turn on when they detect motion.

Mayor Edward Meyer said he will have borough attorney Frank McGovern continue to look into the issue.

“In the interim, I walk down there with my dog regularly and keep an eye on stuff,” he said. “If I see kids there, I walk over and I speak with them. That’s mostly what we can do for right now.”