Several years ago, the city of Auburn entered into a three-part lease arrangement with the National Guard and the Auburn Suburban Little League to the land around Mt. Apatite Park off Garfield Road.

Since the creation of this arrangement, the park has been allowed to deteriorate. Signs that used to welcome and direct visitors to the park have been replaced with signage that threatens military trespass sanctions to anyone who enters.

While it could be argued that the presence of the well-maintained ball fields meets a public recreational need, one need only to travel to the site on a Saturday morning during baseball season when the Guard is taking rifle practice to observe the danger. While this range located at the edge of the park is orientated to direct fire away from the fields, one can observe that live ammunition is used no more than a few hundred yards from the children playing in the fields with no barrier in place to stop an errant bullet.

Although we have not yet experienced an injury from this arrangement, this reader, who has had his share of military experience facing distressed families whose members’ lives were destroyed by such negligence, must ask why this dangerous situation is allowed to exist. When will the city of Auburn recognize its responsibility to manage the public lands under its care for the benefit and safety of all of its citizens?

John Whalen, Auburn