EXPRESS FILE PHOTO The Tiger Den playground is pictured in spring 2026.

LOCK HAVEN — The future of the Tiger Den continues to remain in question, though some headway is being made towards providing direction by a group of community members who hope to see the popular place remain for local kids.

The park, which was constructed through a major community effort in the 2000s, was closed in October 2025 due to safety concerns.

In June, council heard from Chris Long, who represented a group of community members who wish to see the park either refurbished or rebuilt, so it can be enjoyed for generations.

At the time, council chose not to move forward with an evaluation by Leather and Associates — the company that constructed the playground.

That changed during Monday night’s meeting after hearing from Long and other members of the public.

City Planner/Interim Manager Abbey Roberts presented council with information on behalf of Community Life Director Kasey Dumm — who was unable to attend the meeting — that outlined information from Leather and Associates regarding possibly rebuilding the park.

According to the information, a rebuild of the park to its current specifications and including fall-safe surfacing would cost $866,540.18.

Long again attended the meeting on behalf of the group interested in saving the Tiger Den. He said a large portion of the membership would like to see the evaluation previously suggested take place.

He noted the figure presented by Leather and Associates is too great for the city or a community group to afford.

“I feel the playground should be evaluated. There’s a lot of various items there that maybe could be used again,” he said, using slides and metal pieces of equipment as examples.

Pulling from figures from the original construction, Long pointed out there could be about $7,000 worth of slides and non-wooden pieces that might be able to be reused.

“This would also allow us to create a tiered goal list” for fundraising instead of on flat reconstruction cost, he said.

“Right now, we don’t have a variety of options. But if it were to be assessed, we’d have that,” he said. “I’m requesting an evaluation on behalf of the group.”

Multiple other community members who attended Monday’s meeting agreed with Long about the request.

During council’s discussion, Mayor Joel Long emphasized listening to the community and trying to make a decision based on its needs. He said he felt the roughly $2,800 for the assessment would be a minor cost to get answers for the group.

He asked Chris if the group had begun fundraising yet.

“We haven’t raised money yet. We’re waiting for a goal to be developed,” he said.

Roberts noted the city has a line item set up for donations for the park already, but also won’t accept any funding yet.

“We don’t want to take money without a goal,” she said.

Councilmember Jeff Brinker said he felt council needed to consider a revisioning of the park.

“I’m not in favor of the study. I’m thinking we need to reshape that space,” he said. “We may need to re-envision it for the next 25 years.”

He noted he holds many memories of playing at the Tiger Den during its first 20 years, but said he trusts Dumm’s assessment that the current layout and structure may not be the safest moving forward.

Councilmember Heather Alexander, who spoke in favor of the assessment, expressed concerns of what chaos the new park could potentially bring.

She said she lives near the newly refurbished Hoberman Park and described seeing destructive behavior, clothes and trash left behind among other issues.

“I cannot see making a park where there is chaos every day,” she said.

She noted cameras are currently being installed at Hoberman, however, to see if it will curb this behavior.

Mayor Long said his opinion was based in having the most information to make the best choice for the community members who are involved in the project.

“Any decision for me is about having as much information as we can to make the best decision,” he said.

Through a motion made by Alexander and seconded by Councilmember Rick Conklin, council unanimously agreed to have Leather and Associates complete its assessment to see what items could be reused in the reconstruction of the Tiger Den.