We have lived in Friendswood for 23 years. This park has given our family wonderful bday parties and moments to cherish. As our children have grown older, my husband and I still enjoy our evening walks, from 8:30-9:30pm. This park has always closed at 10pm since we've lived here, and it is still posted as such at the entrance to the park. The last few weeks the park employee has been telling visitors that the park is closed at 9:30pm..... On this particular evening, the sheriff's deputy turned his lights on in the parking lot and made a loudspeaker announcement that the park was closing - at 9:25pm. My husband and I were halfway across the baseball field at exactly 9:25pm, when he turned off the field lights, leaving us in pitch black to walk 1/4 mile back to the main part of the park. As most know who visit this park, the ball field and main roads are lined with woods and there are plenty of copperheads this time of year. I approached the employee, along with another guest who was finishing his workout to ask if the closing hours had changed. He responded that he had things to do, and it was on him that he turned the lights out on us, and if we weren't out of the park by 9:45pm, then we would be locked in, and that would be on us. I told him, no, it would be on him, as the sign at the entrance of the park states it is open to the public until 10pm. I told him I would be calling the county the following week to complain, as my husband and I only had 5 minutes left to our walk when he turned the lights out on us after a 1 second warning from the deputy - 35 minutes before the park is supposed to be officially closed. His response was, "do whatcha gotta do". And I will. Our neighborhood is right across the street from this park and has over 1,000 homes/residents. I feel a petition might eventually be in order. I don't normally make a big issue over such things, but the lack of respect that was shown to the guests that evening by putting us in the dark, was way out of line, not to mention that both the employee and the deputy were in the wrong for ushering guests out of the park 35 minutes early. Might I add that this was on a Friday/weeknight night. A neighbor of mine has since told me that one evening she was there at 8:00pm, and the employee had locked the restrooms up for the night. To top it off, last night my husband and I decided to walk a few minutes early to avoid any drama. It was Saturday evening and the park was very busy. There was a very large family gathering for a bday party, and as my husband and I were wrapping up our walk, it was exactly 9:15pm per my iphone. The deputy pulled around with his lights on and announced to the family on his loudspeaker that the park was closed, and they needed to pack it up and leave! 45 minutes before park closing. Our tax dollars are paying for this park and its employees, and if they are getting paid to work until 10pm, then they need to stay until 10pm, and not expect to cut out early by forcing park guests to...
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