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Letter: Playgrounds good, flooding needs work
Op-Ed · October 16, 2014
Dear mayor, council members and the voting public of West Branch,
It appears that the members of the Parks and Recreation Commission have worked hard to develop a comprehensive plan for improving West Branch’s park system; although, I am not sure that we need $4,000,000 worth.
This letter is intended to address only a very small portion of that plan.
Beranek Park is a very nice little park that gets light to moderate use and I would like to see it have more activities and get more use; but, I have some issues and questions about the plan for it. I have lived next to that park since its inception. It seems to me that the No. 1 priority for improving that park should be to stop the flooding. If we get a two-inch rain, part of the park is under water; three-inch, most of it is under water and with a four-inch rain, the entire park is flooded. I know that I have pictures and I am guessing that my neighbors do as well.
In the last month or so I have seen the city public works employees replacing most of the contaminated sand, which is a direct expense for the people of West Branch, and the addition of two more volleyball courts and expanding the playground area can only significantly increase this expense, costing the taxpayers a lot more money in the long run.
I would like to move on to my thoughts and questions about the additional volleyball courts. Personally, I do not see the need. Currently the two existing courts get used one night a week during the summer for about two months with an occasional night thrown in here or there and an all-night event once or twice a year. The plan says to add two new courts for larger events. A larger event insinuates that there would be more people in the park and I do not see any provisions for additional parking. I hope they are not planning on using the park’s neighbors’ backyards or having them park on South Maple Street and walking through our yards and scattering their trash or partially blocking our driveways. (All of which happened when the Hooverball tournaments were held in the park.) In my mind, adding new courts and lights is only an added expense that will get very little or no use. The current lights get left on several times a season and burn for three or four days/nights before someone notices and turns them off.
On the plus side, I think that expanding the playground area is a great idea as long as the flooding issue gets resolved and we can give our little people good, clean sand to play in.
Thank you for your time,
Terry Bender, West Branch
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