The fire pits located at The Grove were a bit of a hot topic at Monday’s meeting of the Bourbonnais trustees.

One of the features of the 12.5-acre park is six fire pits with seating. They are open year-round.

They are located on the west side of the park, along William Latham Sr. Drive.

The pits use timers and limit the usage to one hour, or until the stop button is pushed, Public Works Superintendent Terry Memenga said.

The cozy setting has seen some misuse of the fire pits by people. That includes grilling or heating up food.

“We remind all visitors, adults, and children alike, do not misuse the fire pits by attempting to cook or warm any food items, burn any objects, put anything into the fire bowls, or remove any of the material within the bowls,” Trustee Randy King read from a report provided by Memenga.

“Failure to comply with this may result in removal of the fire bowls entirely. It’s an ongoing problem. We can’t seem to leave that alone.

“Maybe, I’m interjecting here. Maybe there’s some type of screen or something we can put over the top. I don’t know. We’ll see what we can figure out working on that.”

Bourbonnais Police Chief Dave Morefield said officers have been doing more foot patrols through the park, and the addition of the park rangers for the season will help.

“It’s just in the [past] several weeks there’s been a lot of the kids out there, and they throw the rocks all around out in the grass and create a little havoc, and then it keeps people away that are wanting to go and enjoy the fire pits,” Morefield said.

“We’re trying to clamp down on that, and we’re having some success.”

Mayor Jeff Keast said visitors to The Grove should treat it like it’s their own.

“Follow the rules of The Grove. Our police department and our [park] rangers have done a very, very good job of keeping things clean and keeping things taken care of,” Keast said.

“Our Public Works Department takes care of The Grove. It is the best park in the region, and please treat it like it’s your home and how you take care of it at your home.”