OTSEGO, Mich. A man, later charged, set a fire to part of the play structure at Northside Park.

The fire, which happened early in the morning on September 2nd, seen in the photo above, caused extensive damage to the playground.

Vandalism isn’t new to Otsego’s parks, but Mike Bosch, Otsego Public Work Superintendent said, “Most of the time it is graffiti or something similar. Nothing to this extent.” The size of the fire was unprecedented, and it’s clear the city is treating it as a serious incident.

On the question of police presence, Bosch explained, “The city of Otsego has 24-h police service and coverage. It is their responsibility to do checks and cover the entire city during each shift.” Despite this, the fire still occurred, starting 15 minutes after the last park check.

As for repairs, Bosch said, “I am currently in the process of collecting photos and estimates to repair the structure to something similar that was there. As we approach the fall and other things needing to be accomplished by the city employees, it will probably be rebuilt over the winter and early spring.”

Community involvement is still up in the air. “I know that this was a community build back in the mid-90s and many have fond memories of doing so. I would like to have some sort of community involvement but I’m not sure what that will look like yet,” Bosch said.

For now, the park’s wooden design will remain. “Yes, for now the park will retain its wooden design. The entire structure is aging and it has been on the city plan to rebuild/replace the structure in the coming years. It is not a difficult thing to do as it is so large, and definitely has a special place in the hearts of our community. I have heard many, many stories of grandparents and parents bringing kiddos down to play stating that they used to bring their kids or maybe even played on this themselves when they were little.”

As the city looks ahead to rebuilding, Bosch said, “I’m sure we will have some type of a ribbon cutting and re-grand opening.” Northside park is not going anywhere and many more memories will be made at the beloved ‘castle park’.