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It's a shame that after so much hard work and money went into building Circus Square Park, there hasn't been adequate power for vendors and the sprinkler system has been problematic.

On the surface, we give all those involved in the planning and building of Circus Square Park a lot of credit. It is a beautiful park and a great downtown addition, but better planning should have been done.

If you're going to spend this much money on a park to be a focal point in redevelopment, then do it right and don't cut corners.

The park cost $5.6 million. Within the first few weeks of its use, vendors complained they didn't have adequate power.

Hog Wild BBQ set up its trailer at Concerts in the Park and quickly noticed the inadequacy. Hog Wild BBQ owner Marshall Beach said: "Not enough plugs were put into the park for what they're utilizing it for."

The lawn sprinkler system is also an issue. At the park's opening, one vendor drove in a stake and burst a line. The water lines are buried only four inches deep.

India Hooks, an International Festival board member, expects that event's 30 or 40 vendors to have serious headaches related to water and power.

Considering the International Festival is only six weeks away, we hope some of these problems can be addressed quickly.

Cheryl Blaine, executive director of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority, said the city made them cut funds and that in hindsight she wishes more circuits had been put in.

"We did the best we could with the money we had," Blaine said. "We thought we had the right people in there working on it."

Blaine even made the comment in Friday's paper that she questioned whether the water lines were buried deep enough and was told they were. But various online guides to installing sprinkler systems suggest burying them eight inches deep, below the frost line.

Why wasn't this done?

John Osborne, chairman of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority, reflected Blaine's view about the city cutting back on funding and also said in hindsight the power at the park was inadequate.

Emmett Wood, public works director for the city, said he is not aware of any decision that was made to put in lower amperage or power because of less money.

Wood did say, in hindsight, that more circuits should've been put in.

"In any project, in hindsight, things could have been done better," Wood said.

Wood said he didn't know what arrangements had been made to accommodate the International Festival.

He said in regard to vendors that "we regret it and I'm sure the DRA regrets it."

Wood disagreed with the assessment that perhaps the water lines could have been buried deeper, saying he believed they were deep enough.

"We will do our best to make sure this doesn't happen in the future," Wood said.

The citizens of Bowling Green deserve the best and we commend community leadership for the beautiful park, which many generations of citizens will no doubt enjoy.

We simply wish it could have been brought off without the ensuing problems.