CHICOPEE, Mass. — The Post 9/11 and Service Dog Memorial Park in Chicopee which opened in June has suffered damage to some of its wooden structure due to carpenter ants.

Some residents like Jesus Negrin, who uses the space often to walk his dog Princess, says it's unfortunate to see.

"I've been coming to this park before it was a park and I've been walking my dog here for a long time and they worked so hard on the park here," said Negrin. "And now that you mention it, it is getting messed up. The wood is getting rotten and the termites are eating it up. They should restore it."

The park has had some unfortunate incidents.

In May, it was vandalized with graffiti in several spots including rock carvings, signs and trees.

"A lot of vandalism and stuff like that that," he said. "A lot of people come over here; sometimes they don't have nowhere else to sleep and what they end up doing is leaving and messing stuff up." 

The Chicopee Parks and Recreation Department gave Spectrum News 1 a statement Friday afternoon. The city said they became aware of the issue earlier this week and have already taken steps to eliminate the pests. They said the damage is minute but with the space being an outdoor facility, these types of things can and do occur.

"We never had this before. Now we have a park for dogs and it's going to be messed up and vandalized like that," he said. "I just hope for anybody listening that help us to maintain our parks and recreation and everything and give us a nice place to live."

The parks department said they're grateful to those who brought the issue to their attention. 

The city said they will continue to monitor the area and treat it over the next coming weeks as needed.