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Five Lafayette area parks
to receive uplift by
2003
By Jamie Teibel
Summer
Editor
Members of the Lafayette Parks and Recreation are
hoping for the completion of their five-year journey to improve Lafayette
parks by the year 2003.
Vicki Mayes, superintendent of Lafayette Parks
and Recreation, said, "(The renovation) will provide very high-quality
places for people to come and recreate."
A total of five projects are planned, beginning
with improvements to McAllister Recreation Center in spring 2002. The
center's improvements will be of the building; including refinishing
the gym floor, renovating the stage, and building a new exercise and
fitness area. A central maintenance facility will be constructed there
on N. Ninth Street.
Second in line for improvement is Edgelea Pool,
starting in fall 2002 and completing summer 2003. A new design has yet
to be designed, but Mayes said she is hoping it will be a more family
friendly pool.
New tennis and basketball courts and parking are
included in the plans for McCaw Park's improvements.
These first three projects will cost about $3.25
million.
The next two will cost about the same, but may
take longer because they won't begin until 2003. They both focus on
parts of Columbian Park, including the zoo.
Memorial Island will be renovated, with improvements
to the outdoor amphitheater, landscaping, pavement, the memorials and
fountain. Public restrooms will be added to the park, as will rides
and a carousel to be enclosed in a building. Improvements will be made
to the picnic areas, lagoons and turnpike track.
Columbian Park Children's Zoo will take the most
time because there are so many different projects included, said Mayes.
She said that the zoo was built in 1908, so, many of its structures
need to be updated. "As soon as we know we have permission to sell bonds,
we will begin engineering and design of the zoo project," she said.
By renovating the zoo, Mayes hopes to get accreditation
from the American Zoological Association. "It will allow us to open
more opportunities for the exchange and loan of animals, an endorsement
that this zoo practices in maintaining its animal collection," she said.
The "new"' zoo will include an animal hospital,
food preparation area and quarantine area. A new entrance and gift shop
is also in the plan for renovation, as is a wildlife discovery center.
The petting zoo will return, along with several new exhibits.
"We're really excited about the project, it will
improve our parks greatly," said Mayes.
The total cost of all five projects is $6.4 million.
Bonds, which are borrowed from the local government, will be sold at
the end of the year, said Mayes. There will be a modest tax increase,
with an estimated annual property tax increase between $11.20 and $13.32.
The bonds will be sold in two increments, the first will fund McAllister
Recreation Center, Edgelea Pool and McCaw Park improvements. The second,
in 2003, will fund Columbian Park and zoo improvements.
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Five
Lafayette area parks to receive uplift by 2003
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