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Missing light pole panels expose wires at Las Vegas park

Posted at 4:30 PM, Apr 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-05 20:57:41-04

A Las Vegas grandfather says he noticed an unsafe situation after he discovered exposed wiring within reach of children at a park near Washington and Buffalo.

Mike says he visits Kellogg-Zaher Sports Complex fairly often with his grandson.

He says for months he has noticed an on-going maintenance project at the park that involved painting the light poles. Mike says two of the poles were painted but the access panel covering electrical wiring was not replaced.

“Any kid could come by and stick their fingers in there as they walk back-and-forth from school,“ said Mike, who did not want to reveal is last name.

Mike says he reached out to the City of Las Vegas through the city's website but did not hear back so he went a step further.

“I called the supervisor over and I told him what was going on, three months go by and nothing gets done," said Mike.

Contact 13 reached out to the City of Las Vegas about the missing panels. A spokesperson with the Streets and Transportation Department says 600 poles within the park were painted. The painters provided a map of poles which needed the access panel welded once the project was complete.

Contact 13 has learned at least two of the poles were not listed on the map and therefore the access panels were not replaced.

The spokesperson said the panels were replaced as of Wednesday.

Contact 13 has learned copper wire theft continues to be a massive problem for the City of Las Vegas. Current estimates put copper theft at $1 million dollars in 2018.

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