Residents Want Lake Accotink Park Staffed Year Round

Temporary staff changes at Lake Accotink Park made the park unsafe, according to neighbors.

The controversy began in late January, when the Fairfax County Park Authority transferred two employees to other parks for eight weeks because Lake Accotink Park is less busy in January, February and March. A maintenance worker continued to work at the park.

"We felt we were being good stewards," said Park Authority spokeswoman Judith Pedersen. She said moving park employees is routine and necessary, because of budget cuts.   

While the employees returned to the park last week, some park visitors said their absence made the park more dangerous.  They want staff at the park year round.

"The thing that was really bad was that they never told anybody they did it," said Gail Nittle, a director-at-large for the Springfield Civic Association. Nittle said leaving the park unstaffed meant no one was on site who could respond in an emergency. For example, Nittle said, a child could drown at the park's marina.

Diane Boughton, who lives near the park, visited on an unstaffed day. In an email to members of the Board of Supervisors, Boughton cited problems she thought could be fixed by a Park Authority employee, including children running on the marina's dock, a boat out of place, and a fallen tree on the park's road.

With the staff assigned to other parks, the park's office was closed, which Boughton says was also dangerous.  "This is just a no-brainer," said Boughton. "This should not have been done."

The Park Authority's Pedersen responded that in the case of an emergency while the park is unstaffed, visitors should call 911.  According to Pedersen, a majority of Fairfax County Park Authority parks are not staffed.

Still, Pedersen conceded that more could have been done to notify the public about the temporary staff change.  "We probably need to do more in the future," she said.