Sturtevant parks will get some extra attention this year, and board members are taking a walk around to make a list of priorities.
Members of the Sturtevant Parks, Event Planning & Village Beautification Committee will tour village parks starting at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday to identify projects.
Committee chair Carrie Harbach and committee members Jayme Hoffman and Daryl Lynaugh along with Engineer/DPW Director Jeff Seitz and Village Administrator/Clerk Mary Cole will walk through North, South, East and Firemen’s parks.
Harback said her primary goal is to identify safety issues – like swings and ground cover under play equipment – and then move onto aesthetics.
“My goal, with a limited budget this year, is to address any potential safety issues. There are plenty of cosmetic upgrades to be done, but safety needs to be made the priority this year,” she said. “The walk through will give us a list of needs and wants and allow for the committee to prioritize and budget accordingly.”
At the March 24 committee meeting, trustees and residents offered these suggestions:
- Hoffman noted that better weed control and trimming in all the parks is needed and that he plans to outline specific ideas for North Park during the tour.
- Lynaugh thinks some of the trees on North Park’s west end might need to be removed and replaced.
- Trustee Chris Wright would like grills added to Fireman’s Park.
- Terri Larsen asked that the village consider different styles of swings when older swings are replaced.
After village residents voted against a referendum in November to increase the tax levy to support both the annual fireworks and the parks, Trustee Chris Larsen suggested $5,000 be moved into the parks budget to help pay for projects beyond routine maintenance.
Parks haven’t had a line item on the budget for years. Master Gardeners have taken care of the grounds at parks and Public Works employees have been mowing the grass, but money for improvements has been hard to come by as village budgets have gotten tighter.
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