As a lot of people eagerly await the City working to change the west end of Ludington Avenue, even more wonder why the City is using over a half of a million dollars in order to make a canoe and kayak trailhead along with mostly cosmetic landscaping changes of what will have used to be a convenient parking area for the quiet part of the beach.  This evening the west end was prepped for what is sure to be some construction ahead, it looked like this:  

When I was surveying the area I happened to notice something odd and something hazardous.  It was lurking just off the road where the barricades were, it is circled in the picture below.

This area had electrical equipment that likely were tapped into the local utilities of Stearns Park:

A check on the electric meter, just to the side of the open electrical panel, indicated that there was electrical power being used.  I wasn't about to check the open box, however, although there was nothing to stop a curious young child or a venturesome millennial from doing so.

The rusty electrical box was open to the elements and open/unsecured to create a definite hazard for the careless passerby who might want to secure it themselves and risk electrocution.  When electrical boxes are open to the elements and get wet and rusted you definitely don't have a safe situation, particularly when it's open and available in a public park.  

Electricians advise in this situation:  Don't try to "fix" this yourself. Any time water mixes with electricity there is potential for electrocution. You need to call in an electrician to assess the damage and determine what needs to be done to produce a repair.  

Aside from the obvious danger of increasing conductivity when things around electricity get wet, the damage water can do inside a service panel can be even more hazardous. If water has been entering your panel for a period of months or years, corrosion could be ruining the connections between the service cable wiring, the branch circuit wiring, and the screw terminals inside the box.  

I hope there is a reasonable answer as to why this hazard has not been detected by those preparing the west end for its makeover, and why this rusty weathered electrical box is still there if it's not powering anything through it.

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WOW Again, I hope someone reported this at once to city hall, as that is a HUGE LIABILITY SUIT waiting to happen now. Praying no one touches or plays with that. And I can't say I actually remember seeing that previously either, but may be there for special summer events usage.

 The main underground feed conduit to the meter looks to have been there a while as grass has grown at the base. Can't tell where the wires are going but the box is an interior breaker panel and should not be used outside as it is not water proof. Furthermore , I don't see any GFI breakers .  The board that is  hanging down , is it hinged at the bottom of the breaker box? , possibly to be a make shift cover. Who ever cobbled up this unsafe mess should be fined/fired. I hope the city takes care of this before someone does get electrocuted .

I agree this is totally wrong and dangerous. If any of us citizens had this in town on our property we'd be crucified and severally fined with an outrageous amount.

Every time I have had  a new electrical system on a residence, the county electrical inspector comes out ,inspects the installation and places inspected sticker with his signature and date. He then notifies the power company that the meter is ready to set. I see there is a meter set on this botch job system but no sticker.  Does the city just call the power company with no inspection? The large numbers on the meter box would be of the commercial type to whom the meter usage is to be billed to.  Is there a grounding wire coming out of the Breaker box?   I do not see any coming out or a ground rod either which would make this a very serious situation.  Whats the city waiting for ? some one to die? or the biggest lawsuit ever?   I would think that if a city or power company employee is reading this they should notify the proper person about this as the power company will be involved in the lawsuit also  if someone is injured or killed.

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