Charles City Park and Rec Board open to possible dog park changes

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Possible upgrades for the Charles City dog park might include moving the small dog section to a different area and upgrading the playground equipment and picnic shelter that are also part of Waverly Hill Park.

The talk is all very preliminary right now, and nothing has been decided regarding what, when or even if anything will be done, but members of the city Park & Recreation Board were receptive to the idea of exploring options.

Marcie Andrews, a member of the committee that initiated the effort to establish the dog park, said at the Park & Rec Board’s meeting Wednesday evening that members of the committee had been throwing around ideas and she wanted to start a discussion.

“I think its been about five years since we created the dog park,” Andrews said. “It’s been wonderful. Whenever we’re there, the members of the committee, there’s other dogs there. There’s people having a good time and it’s really heavily used, so we’re really excited about that.”

She said the rest of Waverly Park, located at the corner of South Grand Avenue and 6th Street, is also heavily used, but could use some upgrades.

Andrews said a lot of people use the shelter to gather for coffee in the morning, or to stop by to eat their lunch or take a break from work, and a lot of kids use the playground, likely because it’s the only one in that part of town.

“Last summer I went up there with my granddaughter and that’s the first thing she went to, even though the equipment is really old and it’s kind of dangerous. It’s rusty and there’s some sharp edges,” she said.

“If there’s something in the future where we’re going to maybe remodel those or take them out or something, this might be a good chance for us to update and remodel the dog park,” she said.

Among the options would be to relocate the small dog part of the park to where the playground equipment is now and put the playground at the bottom of the hill that’s currently part of the small dog area.

Andrews said the area from the top of the hill where the dog park entry gates are, down to the bottom of the small dog area, is really too steep for people with mobility issues, and also gets slippery and muddy when it rains.

Parks & Rec Board member Cory Mutch said he liked the idea of creating a playground at the bottom of the hill, because it would be more visible. Many people probably don’t even realize there is playground equipment in the top area of the park, he said.

Other members cautioned that if it did become a playground it would have to remain fenced because of the closeness to the streets.

Andrews said some of the dog park fence could be moved to a new area, or if the city wanted it to remain where it is the city could reimburse the committee for the cost of the fence or provide new fence for the other area.

Board members talked over other options for the area, including creating a less traditional playground.

Phoebe Pittman, the City Council liaison to the committee, suggested they consider something like the natural playscape that’s part of Jester Park in Polk County near Saylorville Lake, and is constructed of natural materials such as boulders, logs, earth mounds and water features.

“None of it has any instruction. Kids have to sort of figure out how to play,” said Pittman, who is also a sixth-grade Charles City science teacher. “I wonder if because of the terrain there (at Waverly Hill Park) some kind of natural park like that would be a good fit, so we wouldn’t have to level it.”

The website for the Jester Park Natural Playscape says it avoids “plastics, metals, concrete, lumber and signs explaining how to play.”

“Children that climb trees, roll down hills, scramble up rocks, dam up water, and hide in grass experience natural play. This type of play frees the child’s imagination to limitless learning opportunities,” the website says.

Andrews said the dog park committee would like to meet with a subcommittee of the Parks & Rec Board or with Parks & Rec Director Tyler Mitchell to talk about possibilities.

Mitchell said he would make some inquiries about costs for various options.

Also at the meeting Wednesday evening at the Wildwood Golf Course clubhouse, Mitchell gave an update on the readiness of the city swimming pool for the upcoming season.

He said the 90% of the seams in the pool have been filled, some painting has been done, five grates that were “pretty much shot” were cut out of the concrete and replaced, and other repairs were done.

“We filled the pool, started putting chemical in. For about the first 48 hours I have to check it about every three hours. I decided to sleep at home for about 4½ hours, came back and half the pool was drained out,” Mitchell said.

“Now I think we’ve got that fixed. We still have some small leaks but we’re able to keep up on it,” he said.

Mitchell said the pool is going to be busy this summer. It is scheduled to open on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31.

“The Park & Rec Department is going to partner with the YMCA to do a swim team at our pool again for the summer,” he said. The team will use the pool from 8 to 10 a.m.

The goal, Mitchell said, is to have swimming meets against park and rec teams from other area pools.

“This year there probably wouldn’t be any home meets, just because we’re trying to figure it all out yet and it’s so close to the season,” he said, but meets could be held at other pools.

“That’s the hope,” he said.

“The pool’s going to be used like crazy,” Mitchell said.

In addition to the swim team from 8 to 10, swimming lessons will be offered from about 10:15 to noon, “water walking” will be held from noon to 1 p.m.; open swimming will be from 1 to 7 p.m., and on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. will be aqua zumba. Aqua zumba will also be offered Saturday morning.

The board discussed pool rates and whether a discount would be offered for buying family passes before the season starts. The board passed a motion offering a $20 discount for season family passes sold by next Friday, May 28.

Mitchell said the advance passes will be sold during a couple of work days next week at the pool, and he said people who are interested will be able to find more information on the pool Facebook page, facebook.com/Lions-Field-Pool-275459682919448, or just search for Lion’s Field Pool in Facebook.