The extra officers were commissioned because of the bombing almost two weeks ago at the Boston Marathon, according to Sgt. John Cullen of the Mason Police Department. The department, however, will not be sweeping the park for bombs, he said.
There is always one off-duty officer who patrols the park during the season, but Cullen said patrols are increased for special events, like the Fourth of July, or for concerts at the park.
“They will be a presence, but they will be working as an extra duty detail,” he said, adding that the police canine will be there “so there’s that additional level of security there.”
Kings Island is the 15th top amusement park in North America based on 2011 attendance figures of 3,143,000 people, according to trade group Themed Entertainment Association.
Park officials previously said there were 4,000 seasonal jobs to fill.
Adjusting security measures to protect the park’s guests and employees annually against any potential threat isn’t the only way Kings Island was preparing in recent days for its season opener.
Workers on Thursday replaced track on the Racer, and Kings Island spokesman Don Helbig said employees go over every inch of the park during the off season.
Every car and vehicle from every ride comes down, is dismantled, inspected and rebuilt, he said.
“Prior to opening day, each ride goes through a series of operational, electrical and mechanical tests and is certified by the state of Ohio to operate,” Helbig said. “After opening day, each ride continues to go through a daily series of operational, electrical and mechanical tests and is certified to operate by a rides technician prior to park opening.”
Helbig said the state makes periodic visits to the park — some scheduled and some unannounced — to inspect the rides and and to ensure operating procedures are being followed.
“Safety has been, is now and will always be our top priority,” Helbig said.
Mary Fessler, the new marketing director for the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was watching the Eiffel Tower’s elevator go up and down from her nearby office window Thursday and said she was a little distracted during meetings as other rides were tested prior to opening.
Kings Island is the largest tourist attraction in the county that calls itself Ohio’s Largest Playground, she said.
Tourism drives the county’s economy, with one in every seven salaried jobs in the county supported by tourism, Fessler said.
“Economic impact of tourism in general, it always benefits not only the attraction people are going to, but there is the residual effect,” she said. “People also tend to get food at another places, they have to get gasoline, obviously if they stay the night there is lodging. It’s the ripple effect.”
Kings Island was the top property tax contributor to the city in 2011, Mason Finance Director Joe Reigelsperger said, and it appears it was first last year, when it sent $1.2 million to all taxing districts in the county.
Income tax information is confidential, but when the park objected to the city’s proposed ticket tax in 2009, General Manager Greg Scheid told city council park employees paid about $440,000 to the city over two seasons.
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