With the red, white and blue basketballs flying toward the net en masse, anyone driving by Hillside Park on Friday afternoon could have thought it was some sort of remembrance of the old American Basketball Association from the early ’70s.
Julius “Dr. J” Erving was nowhere to be found, but the colorful basketballs, provided by the city of Mill Creek’s recreation department, were popular among those who attended the dedication ceremony for Hillside Park, the newest park in the city of Mill Creek.
Located in the Vineyards neighborhood on 12th Avenue SE, Hillside Park is 1.2 acres and includes a half-court basketball court, complete with a 3-point arc, two four-square areas, three picnic benches, children’s play toys and a large expanse of grass on small hilly knolls.
Mayor Donna Michelson remembered the parks she grew up with as a child and compared them to Hillside in her comments.
“One big difference is we had to be driven, and when we got there, there were a couple of swings, a teeter-totter,” she said. “If we wanted to play four-square, we made our own area. There were no basketball courts.”
Hillside Park is across the street from several homes and is located just off the Mill Creek Boulevard/Village Green Drive corridor.
“(Kids) can walk to this park,” Michelson said. “Bigger kids can enjoy the basketball court. This park promotes exercise.”
One of the basketballs was given to Lester Kao, a Mill Creek Youth Advisory Board member who submitted the name Hillside Park during a contest the city conducted last fall. Kao also won $50 cash that was donated by then-City Councilman John Hudgins.
Hillside Park was selected by the Council out of three names recommended by the city’s Parks and Recreation Board, which narrowed down the list of approximately 30 names that were submitted.
Hillside Park cost $285,621.57. A proposed second phase for the park would include a picnic shelter and restrooms. The second phase is being considered by the city’s Capital Facilities Program Committee.
Hillside is the second park the city has dedicated this year, with Cougar Park being dedicated Jan. 30.
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