Wetting it down
City Street Department employees water the grass seed planted over the site where the sand pit was removed in preparation for the installation of the new Splash Pad at the Pea Ridge City Park.
A new splash pad is planned for the area in the City Park between the restroom and the large pavilion thanks to a grant.
Members of the Parks Commission are Joseph Carlson, chairman; Karen Kitterman, Crystal Carlson and Mechel Wall. More volunteers are welcome. The positions are for a five-year commitment. Two positions expire in March 2019. The commission meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in City Hall. They oversee the parks and help implement new plans and ideas.
The City Park, off Hayden Road, comprises about 11 acres and includes three play structures, two sing sets, a basketball court, two pavilions, sports fields, a stage, a walking trail and soon, a splash pad. The commission sponsors movies in the park during the summer. There are horseshoe pits and exercise stations around the walking trail.
“It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Joseph Carlson, chairman, said. “It’s nice. It’s usually quiet. It’s very scenic.”
The park has often been the recipient of Eagle Scout projects such as the exercise stations on the walking trail.
Carlson said that during softball and football season, the practice fields and parking spaces are full.
A small playground set was added near the smaller pavilion. It was bought from Head Start, according to Kitterman.
Both pavilions are available on a first-come, firstserved basis.
Bird houses were installed in the park to encourage birds which will eat insects. There are also a couple of memorials including the helicopter climbing structure which was in memory of Randall Rogers, a light pole in memory of a Beta Alpha member and a tree planted in memory of former newspaper editor Billie Jines.
Givens Park, 2265 S. Harvey Wakefield, has a swing set, play structure, practice field, benches, a picnic table and grill.
“That was put in because the land was given to the Parks Commission,” Carlson said, adding that there was vandalism problems earlier. It has easy access to people and is open to the public.
There is land downtown that is west of the business area and is where the city clean up is held.
“It’s undeveloped,” Carlson said.
Baker-Hayes Park, off Greer Street, is where the city brush dump is. It is undeveloped and in a flood plane, Carlson said, adding that City Street Department superintendent Nathan See is working with a group to make to a bike trail. “It’s a beautiful piece of property.”
Kayto Park is a “little slice of land with a park bench” off Chapman Lane, Kitterman said, adding that it could potentially hold a play structure.
The splash pad is the culmination of a four-year process.
“A lot of people think it’s taken too long,” Carlson said, “that it was a drawnout process.”
The splash pad will include a recirculation tank to save on water costs. There will be shade provided by sails above the pad.
“It will be expandable,” she said.
Carlson said that although there will be a few features in the beginning, more can always be added.
“We’ve done everything we can to minimize costs in the long run,” Carlson said.
“The next biggest project will be a special needs park,” Carlson said, explaining that he hopes it will be installed in the green space between the Police and Fire Department stations. “The one handicap swing we have keeps getting broken,” he said.
“We have just about everything a family would need to enjoy themselves,” Carlson said of the city’s parks.
Dogs in the park must be on a leash, according to city ordinance.
The biggest cost to the parks is repair done because of vandalism.
“That constantly sucks money out of the budget,” Carlson said. “You work so hard to build something up just to see it destroyed.
“When we first started putting things in Givens Park, it was constantly vandalized,” he said.
Any group that wish to volunteer to help with repair or maintenance in the parks is welcome, Carlson said.