Tag Archives: Jackson Park

Wyoming City Council accepts $1.3 million bid for Jackson Park project

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The adopted master plan for Jackson Park. (Supplied)

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

With the Wyoming City Council’s awarding of a $1.3 million bid, area residents will have a new splashpad, playground, and restroom at Jackson Park.

At last night’s regular council meeting, the Wyoming City Council accepted a bid from Katerberg Verhage, Inc. for the development project at Jackson Park, which is located at 1331 33rd St. SW.

Jackson Park is approximately 22 acres. It resides in a densely populated residential area of the City of Wyoming which is primarily made up of single‐family homes. A large green space in the center of the park provides for storm water storage for the neighborhoods.

A key to the development design was resident input, according to city staff. The City Council approved the design on April 20, 2009. Along with the splashpad, playground and restroom, this phase of the project also features the construction of shelter, security lighting, and new parking lot and access road from Robin Avenue.

“We’re excited to bring the ideas of residents to reality. The redevelopment of Jackson Park has been highly anticipated by area residents in this densely populated area of our community,” said Mayor Jack Poll.

A key element to the redesign of Jackson Park was resident input. (Supplied)

“Our initial goal was to begin Jackson Park’s development in 2015, however the economy and mother nature had different plans,” said the City of Wyoming Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt. “Project funding was delayed as a result of effects of the foreclosure crisis, and then having to make difficult choices for our park system’s capital and maintenance needs following tornadoes and flooding, required us to prioritize the redevelopment of Ideal Park over Jackson Park. Now, with Ideal Park well under construction, and having obtained funding, we can bring these much sought after improvements to the Jackson Park.”

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.

 

“We are grateful to our residents for their support as we continue to offer some of the best parks in West Michigan, right in their backyard,” Poll said.

Construction will begin this spring, and the park’s grand opening is planned for the summer of 2021. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to mark their calendars to attend the Ideal Park Grand Opening scheduled for Saturday, June 6.

Wyoming hosts last meeting on millage, KDL leader states he is comfortable with request

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On Saturday, April 29, the City of Wyoming will host the last of its three public information sessions on its request to open the city’s library maintenance fund for park improvements.

 

The meeting is at 10 a.m. at the KDL Wyoming Branch located at 3350 Michael Ave. SW. The discussion will center on the May 2 ballot proposal where voters are being asked to allow the city to utilize .16 of its .39 library maintenance millage to put toward some of the $23 million in park needs. 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.

 

The library maintenance millage is only to maintain the actually facility, Rynbrandt said, adding that what many people do not realize is that the library building is owned by the City of Wyoming. Kent District Library operates the library services and owns the collection. Operations of the library and the collection are funded through a Kent District Library millage, which is a 1.28 mill levy, which covers all 18 branches within the KDL system.

 

The Kent District Library and the Kent District Library Board are neutral on the subject of Wyoming’s request to transfer some of its library maintenance millage for park improvements, however; KDL Director Lance M. Werner said he and Wyoming Branch Manager Lori Holland have had multiple talks with the city about the proposal and impact to the library.

 

“We have been repeatedly assured by the City that the Branch will be held harmless and will be supported at the same level it currently is in the future,” Werner said.

 

The city recently completed more than $650,000 in renovations to the library facility that includes a new roof and the revamping of the former cafe to a public space. Upon review, city staff determined that there would be no major renovation projects needed for the library facility within the next 10 years, Rynbrandt said.

 

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.

 

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 or any the parks, visit WYParks.com.

 

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

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, , , , , , , , , ,

 

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.