Heavy rain impacts Philadelphia recreation centers

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Summer campers spent much of their Wednesday in a second floor activity room at the Hunting Park recreation center that's because the first floor gym is flooded. Each new rain brings water gushing through the leaky ceiling, shutting down the gym and interrupting programs for the kids.

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Parents weren't even aware of the leaks until until FOX 29's Bruce Gordon showed them.

"They have it closed off so I can't even see what you were telling me about, but I'm not pleased at all," parent Erica Bagwell said.

Hunting Park is among 150 or so Philly rec centers--most of them old and some falling apart in need of an estimated billion dollars in repairs.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell says just replacing the roof here is a half million dollar job.

"There is an infrastructure issue we'll have if we don't fix the roof come wintertime, Ott Lovell explained.

So without a roof replacement, the gym would have to close?

"Yeah, and really the entire building, " the commissioner explained.

At the Hillside Rec Center in Manayunk a leaky ceiling must also be replaced, which is another half million dollar tab. At the Feltonville Rec Center, safety padding around playsets has been worn away or torn away.

"We remove the swings when the padding isn't sufficient to help children when they fall," Ott Lovell said. "And now, we have all of these 'swing graveyards' all over the city."

The Kenney dministration says money from its controversy all sweetened beverage tax will be used later this year to finance a $300 million bond issue to try and put a dent in the city's rec center repair wish list. The goal is to keep vital neighborhood resources open and dry.