No doubt this guys bosses felt he was not well trained.

No good deed goes unpunished...

I bet the good citizens of Houston would be more than happy to donate the necessary funds to cover the unapproved expenses.

I don't think anyone who fired this guy would be re-elected once this news got out. This is more like the early stages of Scrooge's life. 

I'll guess he either didn't "donate" enough of his check back to the proper politician (or worse yet is affiliated with the wrong party) or he was going to retire and they needed a way to can him before he could draw that lucrative pension.

Either way this sounds like just an excuse to me.

J White

As much as it's a sad story, just from reading it I can understand.

He built it in a park where children are expected to play on/with it. 

It's easy to believe what it said about it costing $$ to ensure it meets safety regulations.

Unfortunately this falls under the "if one person does it....." situation.

You could have people start building random structures as "gifts", and that's probably what they are trying to lower the risk of by firing the poor guy.

-Dave

A quote from the article..."The group said it will spend about $6,000 to make sure the train is in compliance with safety regulations...." $6,000? to inspect a 40-foot wooden train to be sure it is "safe?"? You've got to be kidding me.

Right there in one sentence is why good people can't (or won't) do these kinds of  things today. All this nonsense about "safety" is just so much cover for people who want to control every aspect of our lives. It is truly a shame that we have come this far down a road that goes nowhere.

I really feel bad for the guy who built the train.

There may be a lot of things untold here.  He may have had a simmering dispute with someone in charge and with his self assumed tenure, overstepped his boundaries, and ****ed somebody off.  That's how you get the axe.  Be nice to see what he built.  If it was worth it. 

A photo of the train would be nice.

x2, and I'd want to see the "before and after" the "safety rebuild...if there's any difference!

I don't live too far from this park.  But if the owners of the park did not want the train, then that is their business.  Now who is forcing something onto somebody else?

If I had the time and money for this, I would make D*** sure the party at the receiving end actually wanted it.

Also, because where this park is, there are special rules about what can and cannot be built.

Sometimes the "prime Directive" from Star Trek is the best course of action!

I am sure there are other parties in the Houston-Harris county area who would love to have this train!

 It looks awesome, and its a fixed play structure.

The biggest issue is probably injury from falls. Myself having installed numerous play structures in the City of Chicago, a certified impact surface is typically required. I would think an impact surface could be installed for under $6000

Heres a link to the local news with video:  Wooden Train

Sorry, I don't see any Grinch here.

The man himself said he purposely went around the approval process, and did not seek permission, as required, before he did this.

Just because it's a train, and just because it's for kids doesn't mean we get to skirt the rules.

Liability issues for the park's owners is huge.   They darned well deserve to have an approval process.  The Neighborhood Association owns this park, and can and will be liable if anyone is injured.  (yes, that's a topic for another day).

I'm not a huge fan of HOA's, but he's in one, and this is a common area, so the rules must be followed.

I am sure there are permitting issues as well that may have not been followed.

That being said, I do think it's really neat, and I hope something can be worked out.  It's nice that he wanted to do this, but the precedent this would set for not only this neighborhood, but others, would open up an entire can of worms.

Here is the link to the  Houston Chronicle   It has pics its is made out of wood.

Surprise gift to Heights park gets man

fired, left without any thanks

 by Heather Alexander, Houston Chronicle   February 27, 2014 |  Updated: February 28, 2014 6:23am

http://www.chron.com/neighborh...74450.php?cmpid=hpfc

Doesn't look any more dangerous than the structure in the background.

Sooooo when 1 little kiddie falls of the well intentioned train, who would pay the lawsuit?

I'm sorry but I have to side with the city.  In this day and age there are way too many liabilities.  I don't think he should have been fired BUT, he really had no right to make this without prior approval.

It looks like a really nice train.  It's too bad it had to happen the way that it did.  Even though I love the looks of the train, it's hard to defend his actions. 

Art

And that folks is all that really matters in today's society, and the reason this country and the people in it are so d*** weak! Everyone's afraid of being liable for someone else and their ignorance/stupidity!

Half of you in this thread mention liability and getting sued. What happened to little kids having accidents because they are kids. Just because they fall and get hurt doesn't mean someone needs to be sued.

A kind gesture (of any kind) is usually ruined over the worry of liability! All these stupid a** rules only exist because of LIABILTY!

Well . . it is a steam locomotive after all, so . . boiler inspection, firebox inspection, no apparent ash pit, etc., etc.

I think it's much more likely a fear of lawsuits rather than a desire on the part of some persons to "control every aspect of our lives."  Too many lawsuit-happy lawyers, too many "people" looking for some easy money.

Pete

I see nothing wrong on what the township did. He broke the rules and spent money with out approval. 

The guy made a very nice train for the kids but he went about it all wrong. Sorry to see him lose his job but he did break the rules.

There are probably ADA accessability and perhaps EPA issues too. Really mixed feelings on how to react to this guy getting canned. Best I can say is, this certainly is something I wouldn't do without across-the-board approval.

Forgetting all the lawsuit stuff for a moment.

What happens if everyone who decides some park needs something just starts building it without approval?

Seeking approval for such things is nothing new. 

So I guess if I think something is nice, or is for others, I can just go ahead and do it on someone else's property. 

This is not a train issue.  

From the article:

"We do believe Paul's heart is in the right place, but no one may do whatever he or she pleases with someone else's private property, regardless of his or her long-term tenure or affiliation with this organization," the group reportedly said.

Good points Escape Rocks. My only question is, I would think he didn't build it in a day. Theres been no mention of anyone telling him to stop.

"We do believe Paul's heart is in the right place, but no one may do whatever he or she pleases with someone else's private property, regardless of his or her long-term tenure or affiliation with this organization"

I agree with this statement, I wouldn't have fired him though.

So a kid falls off this thing and gets hurt. Why must we assume there will be a lawsuit over it? Kids fall and get hurt...it is part of growing up.

But there will indeed be a lawsuit because we have become a society that cannot accept personal responsibility for our own actions. The attitude in our society today seems to be, "If something bad happens to me, it has to be someone else's fault. Whoever that is, I'm gonna sue  'em!"

It's a sad commentary on the future of the country.

The world, and especially the US has not been the same since WWII. Before then, right and wrong were clearly defined. Ever since, it's been a slow and steady decline of morals, manners, and decency. Every great civilization rises and falls...

Now that I'm recovering having sat on a HOA board for nine years, there is plenty of infighting within it's members. This gentleman was a past president of the HOA, and I suspect there's more going on here than meets the surface.

I think the guy built a pretty neat train.  There obviously was a lot of planning and work involved.  Wish I had one of those to play on back when I was kid-size.  Firing the fellow for such a well-intentioned gesture strikes me as going a good bit overboard, but nothing surprises me much these days.

I absolutely agree, Rich.

IMHO the vast majority of personal injury lawsuits are driven by greed, not justice

The plaintiff's lawyer (for the injured child) points to the banged up kid and says "this defective dangerous attractive nuisance that caused such pain, suffering, and emotional distress was placed there without HOA approval! Hello

So true Rich...and it only continues to get worse, day by day!

quote:

It's a sad commentary on the future of the country.

No it's not! 

It is a sad commentary on the current state of this country and many here on this thread! Somebody better be praying for the future of this country and hoping all of this negative thinking isn't a part of it!!!

Now go push the your panic button.

quote:

A quote from the article..."The group said it will spend about $6,000 to make sure the train is in compliance with safety regulations...." $6,000? to inspect a 40-foot wooden train to be sure it is "safe?"? You've got to be kidding me.

I took the statement to mean that the $6,000 would be spent to inspect and bring the train into compliance.
It is an absolutely beautiful train, but I'd guess there are things that must be done.

I don't know this for certain, but I wonder whether they will have to fill in the spaces between the ties because they are a trip hazard. (an example)

I feel sorry for the fellow because his heart was in the right place, but he intentionally went ahead and built it knowing he should have had prior approval.

No, that's actually the view of the majority.  The minority are the ambulance chasers and opportunists that stir up such a fuss.  It's the old adage of a few rotten apples spoiling the bunch.

BTW, I do agree that he did have the best of intentions and he did do an extraordinary job, but he did make a poor judgement call on not getting prior approval.  Firing him does seem to be too extreme though.

Agree.  How about a reprimand and make him haul it all back home?  I'm sure that he would then be contacted by dozens of communities not encumbered by spineless leadership that would welcome his gift and thank him as a hometown hero.

Anyway, cool train!  

Bob