Bounce Houses And The City Council – Both Are Full Of Hot Air

Oh my gawd.  Do we really have to spend this much time regulating "Bounce Houses"?  I want more mosquito spraying (a public health issue), more streets fixed and maybe we should add attractions to parks instead of taking some away.  More after the break.

The City Council voted to kick the "bounce house" issue to the parks board for recommendations before they finally vote on the future of inflatables in city parks.  Before I comment further, here's where we're at now:

Lubbock Online had these details:

The ordinance would require a $25 permit for each use of the bounce house and allow its construction only in specific areas of listed parks.

Only one bounce house would be allowed in a park at a time, for only four hours, and a staff member would need to stay with the equipment.

via Bounce house talks go flat until July | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Anyways, enough with the regulations.  This is ridiculous.  The parks are for the people and the people should be able to use them.  If you live across the street from a park, sorry-you knew that when you moved in.  If the grass takes a four hour ass-whippin' from the house, big deal, grass grows back.  Our parks are severely underutilized as it is.

We need kids out playing and neighbors out visiting; we don't just need "green show pieces" .  The world has become a very expensive place and parks can be a tremendous free attraction for kids.  Let's encourage anybody who wants to draw attention to our parks to do so-it's like free advertising.  Let's not forget that the city killed the Tornado Jam because of the damage to the grass and we've never come back from it.

In short, if you're going to talk about parks in a city council meeting, let's talk about improving them, not regulating them.  Who's with me on this?  We need splash pads and skate parks and volleyball nets, and dog runs.....not just grass.