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The city of Orange is planning to continue a goal of upgrading parks and to provide recreation for residents. The city’s proposed expenses for the new budget year include repaving the walking trail at Northway Park, building a new pavilion at the upcoming half-million-dollar Lions Den playground, and hiring a recreation department for the planned new recreation center.
During a budget workshop this week, City Manager Mike Kunst said the city has 17 parks to maintain. Many of the parks are in neighborhoods where parents can walk with their children to use swings, slides, and climbing centers. Navy Park, one of the larger parks, even has a splash pad.
For many years, the city has used Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to replace equipment in the neighborhood parks. The plan for 2020-21 has spending $65,000 on the Brownwood Park.
Northway Park, another large park, has a mile-long trail for walking and running. The trail is one of the most popular park areas in town. The proposed budget has spending $350,000 to resurface the trail.
Kunst said the city will have the money to pay for the project from unused funds from the $8 million in bonds the city sold last year for variety of projects.
The council in 2018 decided to spend some of the bond money on converting the old natatorium into a recreation center. The pool will be filled in and the interior will include meeting rooms and two basketball courts that can also be used for volleyball.
Earlier this year, the council hired Architects Inc. of Bridge City to design the recreation center. Kunst in the proposed budget said construction is expected to be completed by May or June next year. The city is planning to hire two full-time employees and six part-time employees.
The employee salary cost in the upcoming budget year, which runs from October 1 to September 30, 2021, are budgeted $104,276. The city is also budgeting $55,000 for equipment for the rec center, bringing a total of $178,476 Recreation Department budget.
City councils for a number of years have talked about replacing the 1950s covered pavilion at Lions City Park. Public Works Director Jim Wolf said the Parks Department is budgeting $95,000 for a new pavilion.
It will go with the new Lions Den Park the city has ordered. The old wooden castle playground was demolished earlier this year because an engineer deemed it structurally unsafe.
The council this summer ordered a new playground for $489,344 with an open design and handicap accessible equipment and paths. Wolf said the new pavilion will compliment the new park.
And to keep up with the maintenance, the Parks Department is also asking the council to approve buying a slope mower for an estimated $187,000.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
Unfortunately all of the playground equipment at our parks have been closed for months because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
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