A few days ago we reported that the grass at Trolley Hill Park had been damaged, presumably by a Bobcat tractor that appeared to have left tracks all over the park. One of our readers, Stephanie, tipped us off to the situation and expressed concern over who was responsible.
“There are tire tracks all over the lawn up there. There is a Bobcat sitting next to what looks like a residential rockery job adjacent to the park but it doesn’t look like simply collateral damage. Maybe someone came and took the Bobcat for a joyride? If it’s Park Dept. or some landscaping employee, they need a map,” she wrote.
Parks and Recreation Public Information representative Joelle Hammerstad did a little digging for us, and found that the Bobcat was not commissioned by the Parks department, and in fact belongs to a private company, Total Grounds Management, who was hired to do some work on a private residence near the park, at 515 Howe St. Joelle wrote,
It appears that there was some miscommunication between the homeowner and the on-site project manager for TGM.
Seattle Parks and Recreation did not give TGM permission to use the park for access to the private residence for their construction project. Nor did we give them permission to use the park as a staging area. We have spoken with TGM and asked them to remove a pile of gravel, as well as the bobcat from the park.
According to Joelle, TMG apologized for the incident and has agreed to work with Parks and Rec to repair the damage to the park. Parks and Rec and TMG will be meeting this coming Monday, April 12 to review the restoration plan.