Tag Archives: improvements

Wyoming hosts reopening celebration for Jackson Park June 5

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Among the new features at Jackson Park is the playground located near the new splashpad. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Walk or drive past Wyoming’s Jackson Park and you can not help but notice that there has been a lot of activity over there.

 

One of the targeted parks on the city’s park improvement campaign, the City of Wyoming approved a $1.4 million investment to Jackson Park last year. This allowed for several new features at the parking such as a splash pad, playground shelter, parking lot, and security lighting. These are all features that came from resident input into the designs, said City of Wyoming Director Rebecca Rynbrandt.

 

After being closed for about a year due to construction, Wyoming residents are invited to celebrate the grand reopening of Jackson Park at a special event this Saturday at 10 a.m. at the park, 1331 33rd St. SW. The hour-long celebration will feature family activities and opportunities to play on the new constructed splash pad.

When the city talked to residents about what they wanted at Jackson Park, many stated a splash pad. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

“We are excited to reopen Jackson Park for our residents”, said Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll, who added the redevelopment has been highly anticipated by area residents with the city happy to have the park complete.

Design work on the park started in 2015, with the city collecting input from residents, Rynbrandt said. But the economy and mother nature forced the city to reprioritize funds to Ideal Park which had been severely impacted by tornadoes and flooding, she said.

Last spring, during the pandemic, the city approved a $1.3 million contract with Katerberg Verhage for the work at Jackson Park. Katerberg Verhage also lead the redevelopment of Ideal Park.

Crews were able to keep working on the park through the pandemic with construction completed on time for the planned reopening this summer.

“We are pleased to celebrate the grand reopening of Jackson Park,” Rynbrandt said. “We pride ourselves on excellent facilities and know that the improved accessibility of Jackson Park will be a great asset to the families of our community.”

Also new at Jackson Park are the covered seating areas. WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

Jackson Park is approximately 22 acres. It resides in a densely populated residential area of the City of Wyoming which is made up of single-family homes and borders the Wyoming Intermediate School.

Along with the new additions, Jackson Park has eight tennis courts, a basketball court and a play area located by the school. The park also hosts a large green space which provides for storm-water storage for the neighborhood during heavy rain events.

Funding for the project is being provided through the City’s Capital Projects Revolving Fund, with staff support through the City’s dedicated Parks and Recreation Operational Millage.

Jackson Park is the third park in a period of four years to have been redeveloped. The pocket park Ferrand Park, located along Byron Center Avenue, was completed in 2018 with Ideal Park completed in 2020. The city has a total of 21 parks. 

City of Wyoming hosts second meeting on upcoming millage request

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Tonight, the City of Wyoming will host a second meeting to discuss the upcoming request to open up its library maintenance millage for park improvements.

 

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Gezon Fire Station located at 2300 Gezon Parkway SW. On the May 2 ballot, the city is requesting that .16 of the .39 library maintenance levy be used to help with park improvements. The nearly $800,000 per year raised would be use to pay a 15-year bond of $4.4 million. The bond money would be dedicated for park improvements at Ideal, Jackson, Ferrand, and Gezon.

 

According to Wyoming’s Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt, the mill levy for the average Wyoming homeowner would be less than $12 a year.

 

For the past several years, the City of Wyoming has made facility improvements to the library which has included the revamping of the former library cafe into a public meeting space. “Over the course of the years, the city council has only actually levied that which is necessary to maintain the library,” Rynbrandt said, adding that as city officials looked ahead, they realized for the next 10 years, the library facility would not need any major renovations.

 

“So here we are not at the point where we can say we don’t need to make those significant investments in library maintenance in the next 10 years,” Rynbrandt said. “So we have a choice: can we ask the voters to recognize the maintenance needs in the park system and would they allow us the flexibility to use some of those library maintenance funds on park capital.”

 

The question before voters on May 2 is whether the city can use some of the library maintenance funds for park improvements.

 

This would not have any impact on the overall operation of the library which falls under the Kent District Library system. Operation, including materials, is covered through a KDL millage which is separate from the city’s library maintenance millage.

 

Two tornados and a flood within four years caused extensive damage at Ideal Park with the park losing many of its trees and playground equipment. Jackson Park also was impacted by the tornados but also has a need for better stormwater control along with improved security and safety. Ferrand Park is a small pocket park that has not have any major improvements in a number of years and Gezon Park is surrounded by intense residential growth with the central area of the park needing to be developed.

 

For more information about the proposal and the four parks, visit WYParks.com. The next meeting on the parks will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Wyoming Public Library, 3350 Michael Ave. SW.

Wyoming seeks to open up library maintenance millage for park improvements

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

With much of the necessary updates made to the City of Wyoming’s library building, Wyoming officials are now turning their attention to its parks by asking its voters to allow the city’s dedicated library maintenance millage to be opened up to make improvements at four of its parks.

 

The proposal will go before voters at the May 2 election. It is requesting that about .16 of the .39 library maintenance levy be used to help with park improvements. The nearly $800,000 per year raised would be used to pay a 15-year bond of $4.4 million. The bond money would be used for four parks: Ideal, Jackson, Ferrand, and Gezon.

 

“From a mill levy standpoint it is less than $12 a year,” said Wyoming’s Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt. “So it is the average cost for a homeowner in the City of Wyoming less than one cup of coffee a month.”

 

The City of Wyoming’s request is not an increase to voters but would allow the city more flexibility in using the library maintenance funds for park improvements.

 

“By being creative, by being flexible, we can meet the needs of this community without having to ask voters for an increase in millage,” said Rynbrandt, who oversees the city’s Park and Recreation Department.

 

More than $650,000 in facility improvements have been made at the library, which is located at 3350 Michael Ave. SW. Those improvements have included a new roof and the conversion of the former library cafe into a public meeting space. The library is part of the Kent District Library system, which provides for all of the materials, books, CDs, etc. Those materials are covered by the KDL millage. The city’s library maintenance millage is only for the facility and would have no impact on the operation of the library, Rynbrandt said.

 

“So here we are at the point now where we are saying that we don’t need to make significant investment in library maintenance for the next ten years so we have a choice,” Rynbrandt said. “Can we ask the voters to recognize maintenance and capital needs in the park system and would they allow us the flexibility to use some of those library maintenance funds on park capital.”

 

Every five years, the City of Wyoming meets with residents and city staff to review needs at its parks. Through that process, the city has recognized more than $23 million in park improvements. In 1994, Wyoming residents did grant a park millage which for the past 20 years the city has been able to invest and maintain the parks without an increase, Rynbrandt said.

 

However, within four years the city has had several natural disasters — a 2013 flood, and 2014 and 2016 tornados — which has created a greater need, Rynbrandt said. Highlighting some of those needs is Ideal Park, one of the four parks that would receive funding through the millage proposal. Ideal Park was severally impacted from the 2014 tornado with its playground equipment destroyed. The city was able to remove much of the debris and get the park reopened only to have the 2016 tornado cause more damage.

 

Ideal Park was closed after the 2014 tornado caused serve damage, destroy the park’s playground.

Learning from those lessons, Rynbrandt said the city recognizes that it needs to improve the security at the park along with the entrances and exits. The city also would like to replace the playground equipment as well, she said.

 

Another park is Gezon Park, located between Gezon Parkway and 52nd Street, which has had tremendous residential growth around it. A site plan was developed for the park in 1996, which needs to be reviewed, Rynbrandt said since things have changed so much around the park.

 

“We didn’t have splash pads back then,” Rynbrandt said as example of some of the changes. The south and north ends of the park have been developed, but the center of the park remains mostly open with residents asking when will the development for that area begin.

 

Also on the list is Ferrand Park, a small pocket park located off of Byron Center, that serves a very dense residential area, Rynbrandt said. The park has not had any improvements or new equipment in a number of years.

 

Jackson Park is the last park on the list. Located at 1331 33rd St. SW, this park, which at one time had a swimming pool, is in an area that was once Lake Alexandria and floods frequently. One of the goals is to improve the stormwater control along with security and safety as well as put in a restroom and improve parking.

 

For more about the millage request and the four parks, visit wyparks.com or visit wyomingmi.gov and go to Parks and Recreation.