After district attorney calls out Kennywood, state senator says park is setting up tour for elected officials
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (KDKA) — Kennywood Park is working on an effort to show off its security features to elected officials in Allegheny County.
The move comes after Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala threatened to shut down the park if security changes are not made.
"Kennywood is a destination place for the Mon Valley," state Sen. Jim Brewster said. "Everybody in the country knows where Kennywood is. So we have all the reason in the world to keep it available and safe."
Brewster said he is doing everything he can to make sure the park opens on time. Opening day is scheduled for April 22.
On March 24, Zappala said if Kennywood's management does not improve the park's security, he will take the park to court and keep it closed.
"Most of the public is probably saying what is it that's not done?" Brewster said. "That's the mystery here. I'm going to try to find that out."
Despite security improvements, Zappala made it clear last week that he believes the park, as it stands, is not a safe place to take children or a family. His concerns were raised after a shooting inside the park injured three people last fall.
Brewster said on Thursday that he and other elected officials in the county got an invitation to tour the park in April.
"I was invited to a walk-through on April 11 with other legislators, to walk through the park," Brewster said. "I'm assuming to give us a comfort level that we can inform our constituents that it is safe to go there."
Brewster said he and state Rep. Matt Gergely want to set up a meeting between Kennywood officials and the district attorney's office.
"I talked to representative Gergely," Brewster said. "He and I agreed we should have a conversation to see if we could intervene and be a helpful voice in a discussion. And Representative Gergely has agreed to do that and so have I. That will probably happen the day of the 11th or before."
Brewster would not go into detail but said he talked to Zappala. Brewster added that he does not object to the district attorney's safety concerns.
"I've had my staff reach out to Kennywood. We are waiting to hear back. And I spoke to Representative Gergely earlier today about this and I talked to Steve Zappala briefly so we are starting to pull everybody together."
KDKA-TV's Jennifer Borrasso: "Do you feel Kennywood should not open if these things are not done?"
Brewster: "It all depends on how severe they are. And I don't know the answer to that. My goal is to get Kennywood open."
Following the shooting last fall, Kennywood did implement security measures, including more police, chaperone policies, bag policies and additional lighting along the perimeter.
KDKA-TV reached out to Kennywood on Thursday but did not hear back.
