MARYSVILLE — In a year when Marysville is pushing forward with numerous major water, sewer and road projects, city parks aren’t being ignored.
The city is spending about $75,000 to overhaul Comeford Park downtown on State Avenue and more than $100,000 to upgrade Jennings Memorial Park on Armar Road in the eastern part of town.
City parks director Jim Ballew said Friday that at Comeford Park the city is relocating the playground to where an aging gazebo stands. The gazebo will be moved to another park, and the city is talking to a local service club about building a new gazebo, Ballew said.
The new playground will be larger. It will be geared for children ages 5 to 12 and will include a rock sculpture of a dog, new swings and fencing.
City officials hope to add a mural wall with the help of art students this fall at Marysville Community Campus, Ballew said. There also will be a new drinking fountain.
The City Council just renewed a contract for a weekend farmer’s market, which will continue to use the park to show off the works of local artists.
Home Depot donated $10,000 toward the playground, which was matched by $15,000 from a donation by the Julietta Gellerson estate.
The park project also has been recommended for a $30,000 Community Development Block Grant to renovate the restrooms.
The total estimated cost of the upgrade to date is about $75,000, Ballew said. Much of the work will be completed in June.
At Jennings park, the city is spending more than $100,000 in improvements with money from the Gellerson estate.
The playground there, which consists of two towers connected by bridges, will be replaced with a structure with several levels made to look like a red barn, Ballew said.
The two towers, minus the connecting bridges, will be placed elsewhere in the park. "It’s our version of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ twin towers," Ballew joked.
The city also will create a concrete plaza in front of the park’s actual red barn, which contains a meeting room and kitchen used for public gatherings.
The new plaza, designed by Marysville park board member Mike Elmore, will include a sitting area, new trees and lighting, a sculpture, a new kiosk and an improved covered picnic area, Ballew said.
In addition, the city is adding a new irrigation system in the upper park and will overhaul the spring-fed Kiwanis Pond, dredging it and putting in a new spillway to better manage water from the pond, which drains into a creek. The pond is stocked with trout and perch. Much of that work will be done in August, Ballew said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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