LEWISTON – An unsafe piece of playground equipment in Kennedy Park is scheduled to be replaced after a complaint prompted police to tape it off Sunday afternoon.

City Councilor Denis Theriault said Monday that the council knew the playground wasn’t up to safety standards, and a replacement is already in the works. Last week, the council voted to put on hold a $267,000 renovation that included a new pool house and a new playground.

“We were told about the condition of the playground and that it was waiting to be replaced,” Theriault said. He said the complaint Sunday has made the need for replacement more urgent.

“When a kid gets hurt, or the possibility of a child getting hurt, we don’t take that lightly,” he said.

Police said they wrapped the 10-foot high platform at the top of the slide in yellow police tape when they responded to the complaint of a loose board Sunday. However, the tape hasn’t been enough to deter children, and the ground surrounding the playground was strewn with torn yellow tape Monday evening.

Walnut Street resident Kane Herrmann said, however, that the problem has been ignored for at least a year. Herrmann said he wants to bring his daughter to play in the park, but for the past year the equipment has been too dangerous for her.

“Last year, they said they weren’t going to do any work to it, because they were going to replace it this year,” Herrmann said. He said the equipment has been deteriorating for years, and the recreation department has responded with small fixes that don’t address the overall condition.

“For maintenance on it, they put a piece of plywood on it, and the plywood scratches the kids,” he said.

Blanche Terjelian of Knox Street agrees the equipment is a danger to area children. She said the problem goes beyond the broken wood, though. Terjelian is concerned about the park where brings her 15-month-old son, Treyvon, to play.

She said she’s constantly taking pieces of trash out Treyvon’s hands. He’s too small to play on the equipment, but Terjelian said she wouldn’t allow him to even if he could climb up.

On Monday, there were more than a dozen kids defying the police tape, climbing the ladders and sliding down the slide, even though the slide is broken and the ladders are crooked.

Theriault said he stopped by the park when he heard about the damage to inspect the wood. He told a child to get off the equipment, and ever since he’s been in contact with the Police Department, asking officers to make sure kids stay off. He was told the police have been replacing the tape, but that kids keep tearing it away.

According to the Lewiston Police Department, the city will make repairs on the playground Tuesday morning.

The council is holding a budget workshop meeting Tuesday night. Councilor Tina Bailey said if no one else raises the issue of the playground, she will.

“I didn’t realize that the equipment was in that bad of shape. I don’t think any of us truly did,” Bailey said.

Herrmann is angry things ever got this far. “It’s really bad. It’s not just the missing board,” he said. “Things are giving way.”