August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27

judgment, the federal district court
would view the following material
facts in a light most favorable
to allowing Storm to proceed to
trial. The Hill has been a popular
sledding site in Brookings since the
1980s, and City of Brookings owns
and maintains it. The east side of
the Hill is the steepest side and historically
the most popular side for
sledding, but the public has sledded
on all sides of the Hill through the
years.
At some point before 2013, although
the record does not establish
when, Sunrise Ridge Road
was built near the bottom of the
east
times suffered injuries from sledding
on the steeper east side of the
Hill, city employees did not testify
about or otherwise document any
injuries sustained from sledding on
the south side of the Hill.
The south side of the Hill has
side of the Hill. The road
created a hazard because people
sledding down the east side of the
Hill would sometimes sled into the
street toward oncoming traffic. To
prevent injury and traffic accidents,
the City placed large hay bales at
the bottom of the east side of the
Hill to " catch " sledders before they
slid onto the street. The City then
began to receive reports that people
sustained
injuries from sledding
into these hay bales. The City did
not keep records of these injuries
or any injuries generally from sledding
on the Hill, but knew that the
hay bales, in particular, and sledding
on the Hill generally caused
injuries over the years.
During the 2013 and 2014 winter
season, the City's parks and recreation
fall and winter activity guide advertised
the Hill as a sledding hill except
when closed for extreme icing or
other dangerous weather conditions.
The guide further explained that the
hay bales at the bottom of the Hill
were installed for public safety.
Storm was injured while sledding
on the south side of the Hill. While
the City knew that people somea
gentler slope, but there is a concrete
drainage ditch that runs east
to west along its base over which
sledders sometimes passed when
sledding down the Hill's south side.
The ditch is about three feet wide
and was constructed in the late
1980s or early 1990s. The record
does not state how deep the ditch
is, but the edge of the ditch forms
a bump that sledders pass over before
dropping down several inches
or more into the ditch. The drainage
ditch is plainly visible from the
south side of the Hill when there is
light snow on the ground.
In January 2014, Dr. Richard
Hieb wrote the City's director of
parks and recreation stating that, in
the past week, he and other doctors
had treated several injuries from
children who had been sledding on
the Hill. The letter stated that " these
injuries invariably involve running
into the large cornstock bales that
are placed at the base of the north
end of the Hill, " and over years of
treating sledding injuries in the city,
" it has become obvious to the medical
community that the bales in
themselves are causing injuries. "
Although the letter refers to hay
bales on the " north " side of the
Hill, the record makes clear that
the hay bales were installed on the
east side. Dr. Hieb recommended
replacing the bales with smaller
bales that would provide more
cushion or alternatively, " perhaps
sledding off the north side of Larson
Hill should be forbidden. "
Proposal to Close
Sledding Hill
At a city council meeting in February
2015, the city manager proposed
closing the Hill to sledding, stating:
We have long known of the potential
injury hazards associated
with downhill sledding at Larson
Park. While a very popular winter
recreational activity for kids, we
repeatedly get reports of injuries
from children hitting obstacles at
the bottom of the hill. Despite our
efforts to make the hill as safe as
possible, accidents are unavoidable.
However, the frequency is
beginning to alarm us.
Every year we install hay bales
at the base of the hill as a barrier
to over-sledding. For the most part,
while they are effective, some injuries
still result. It is unfortunate
that such incidents could result in
the elimination of an otherwise
enjoyable activity for the vast majority
of users. We will re-examine
this issue over the summer and see
if we can find a better alternative
for next winter.
In the fall of 2015, the city manager
officially decided to close
the Hill to sledding. The recorded
notes of the parks and recreation
advisory meeting that fall stated
that Larson Hill would be closed to
sledding. However, the city manager
and the parks and recreation director
later testified in their depositions
that they had only closed the
east side of the Hill because that is
where, in their view, all the injuries
occurred. The city manager told
his staff that only the east side of
the Hill was closed, but some city
employees believed that the entire
Hill had been closed to sledding.
This absence of clarity as to
whether part or all of the Hill was
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | A UGUS T 2 0 22 | Parks & Recreation
27

August 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2022 - Parks & Recreation

August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8a
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8b
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
August 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com