By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Next summer, area residents could be enjoying a new splash pad as construction is set to start this fall on Gezon Park.
At its Aug. 16 meeting, the Wyoming City Council awarded the bid for the phase one development of the park to Katerberg Inc, which has worked on the redevelopment of Ideal Park and Jackson Park. The amount for the project is $2,091,500.
“The redevelopment of Gezon Park increases our ability to equitably provide for recreation and leisure services to a significant, highly populated area of our community,” said Director of Community Services. “We continue to work to invest in our community and our residents through projects like Gezon Park.”
Purchased in 1966 for the city’s water system, Gezon Park is 94.04 acres located between Gezon Parkway and 52nd Street. The park has entrances on both streets. It borders a densely populated residential area of the community which includes multi-family and single-family homes. The southernmost portion of the park has been developed as an athletic complex featuring baseball, softball, and football fields. The northernmost portion has been developed with a small shelter, playground, and basketball court.
Through extensive input from the community, a master plan for the park was created and approved in 2018 by the City Council. This plan includes expanded parking on the south end and more modern recreational amenities in both the north and south ends. The total cost for the entire project is around $6 million.
In 2020, the council authorized an agreement for professional services with Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio and Fishbeck to prepare construction drawings and bid materials for the first phase of the expansion. That first phased will include a large-scale splash pad, expanded parking, restrooms, and shelter on the southend of the park located off of Gezon Parkway. These items will be placed closer to the existing trail head and gravel parking area with no impact on the current baseball and football fields. The first phase improvements also include walking and biking paths that will provide expanded pedestrian and bike connection to the Metro Health Village and the M-6 bike trails, which are both located across the street from the park on Gezon Parkway.
“We’re excited to bring the ideas of residents to reality,” said Mayor Jack Poll. “The redevelopment fo Gezon Park has been highly anticipated by our community.”
In the master plan. the central area of the park has generally remained unchanged. In a later phase, the north end of the park will have a play area, restroom, pickle ball and basketball courts.
Funding for the Gezon Park is through the Library Maintenance Millage. In 2017, the city residents approved re-allocating about .16 of the .39 library maintenance millage to help with park improvements. The nearly $800,000 per year raised is used to pay a 15-year bond of $4.4 million. The bond money was dedicated to four parks: Ferrand, Ideal, Jackson, and Gezon.
Ferrand, a pocket park located off Byron Center Avenue, was completed in 2018. Ideal Park, the city’s oldest park which had sustained damage from tornadoes and flooding, was completed in 2020. Jackson Park, located next to Wyoming Intermediate School and also had a splash pad added, was reopen in 2021.
The city is expected to open up the process for resident input on the future of Marquette Park, the city’s most northern park located at 1251 Marquette SW. Rynbrandt said the city is looking for information from residents on what they want to see at Marquette Park, whether they would like to keep it in its natural state or see a splash pad, pavilions or other amenities.
