How many people in the past have rented and enjoyed the old Hose 4 grounds at the Point? Thousands I’m sure.

Well those days of enjoyment are gone! The city of Dunkirk now owns and runs the grounds and I’m sure one of the biggest benefits of reserving the grounds was the Koch beer cooler that was there to use as part of the facility. It was always an integral part of the rental — a package deal. Not any more!

We rented these grounds as part of our reunion this earlier this month. When noon came around we went in the cooler to get lunch ready and noticed it wasn’t cold at all … not even cool! Fans running but apparently not the compressor. Now there’s a mad rush to get everything out, go home get extra coolers, borrow coolers, get ice, check the salads, dips, veggies, fruits not to mention all the meat. I called the city clerk and told him about the problem immediately. He said he would see if any one from the Department of Public Works could come down.

He came down himself and saw the problem. An hour or so later, I was told that there was nothing he could do because nobody was available. We did lose some veggies, dips and some fruit on top of the inconvenience and anxiety concerning the whole situation.

When I went to City Hall to see if they would give me some kind of discount on the two-day price they said there was nothing they could do. Not their fault, as the cooler is an “added benefit” of the grounds, not part of the rental.

What?!? He even said it with a straight face! Wow.

We were never told about the cooler being an “extra benefit” or were we told that the reservation didn’t even include the cooler any more, strictly the pavilion and grounds. But the cooler is on the grounds.

So people beware with the city running the Firemen’s grounds now, you don’t get what you pay for any more! The city has quickly seen to that!

Skip Cole is a Dunkirk resident.