The homeowners association for the Timberline neighborhood, which located in the northwestern corner of town, offered $1,500 toward the city’s choice from the following list of wants it presented to the Jordan Parks and Recreation Commission last month:
- equipment such as toddler swings, diggers, talk tubes, or “a climbing dome thing” (anything for toddlers would be appreciated as well as something for children a bit older);
- electricity to the park for National Night Out functions;
- a water source;
- trees;
- a picnic table and benches;
- a basketball court;
- or a gazebo or park shelter.
"You've got the Cadillac in Bridle Creek and an embarrassment in Timberline," Councilmember Jeremy Goebel said. "That park is pretty shabby."
The volunteer park board reviewed the association's list of suggestions and recommended that the city build a gazebo, which could someday become a trademark of all Jordan parks.
"This would be similar to the one in Bridle Creek Park," City Planner Casey MacCallum told the council.
The association also wanted electricity for the shelter, but the park board asked the council to allocate $24,148.65 for a 20-foot diameter, steel, hexagonal gazebo without electricity. (Bridle Creek Park's gazebo does not have electricity, either.) This would leave the association with the option of paying for the electricity, which Jordan Public Works Director Dave Bendzick said would cost about $2,000.
The council rejected the idea with a 3-3 vote. councilmembers Goebel, Mike Shaw, and Jeanne Marnoff voted in favor of the gazebo. Mayor Ron Jabs and councilmembers Barry Ullmann and David Hanson voted against it. Councilmember Sally Schultz was late to the meeting and missed the vote.
Hanson and Jabs pointed out that spending from the park fund takes money away from the city's future plans for a regional park on the south end of Jordan.
"I'm opposed to spending 20 percent of our fund on what amounts to a fancy umbrella," Hanson said.
"The Bridle Creek development provided a park for itself," Jabs said. "Development is supposed to provide for itself."
So what's next for the park improvements?
"Overtime?" Shaw quipped.
Hanson suggested he would like to see more options for enhancing the park. Jabs said the park board probably would have something more to say about the council's decision.
One option might be to build basketball courts, as Hanson suggested. Another could include a $17,000 gazebo made of wood.
What improvements would you like at your neighborhood park? Join in the discussion at http://www.jordannews.com/node/5164.
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