During the most recent city council meeting, the features of city parks were a recurring topic. Discussions ranged from citizen input and engineer presentations to council member reports, covering various aspects of the city’s parks and recreational activities.

Below is a summary of a few issues discussed at the last council meeting, held on August 7th of this year. Watch the video included at the bottom of this article. 

Splashpad Presentation

Presenting an update to the Splashpad project, Dan Pratt, the City’s Project Manager, outlined some options and a preliminary site layout. The updates to Mix Park would include additional parking and a cul-de-sac at the end of 3rd Street. The splash pad would be located near the play area in the southwest region of the park. The diagram also showed the placement of two pickleball courts that are being considered for a separate project. 

Pickleball Courts

A resident and avid pickleball player, Angie McBride, updated the council on the growing Facebook community seeking courts to use in their hometown. The Facebook group now has over one hundred and twenty members and is growing quickly. The group is accessible using the following link: DPGazette.com/dppickleball. McBride reported that in her research, the cost other local municipalities have paid was around $35,000 for two courts. She also gifted the city a book called “Pickleball Courts Construction & Maintenance Manual 2023,” published by the American Sports Builders Association.

Skatepark

During council member reports, Fred Senn proposed removing the fence around the Skatepark within Swinyard Park. Currently, the Skatepark hours during the summer are Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, and Saturday, 1pm to 5pm. If the fence was removed, the skate park would be available during park hours from 8am until dusk. There was also discussion about modifying the hours and relocating the skatepark to the Sports Complex. The City of Deer Park owns and maintains the Sports Complex at 801 South Weber, across from the high school. There are fewer residential homes surrounding the sports complex and located much further away. The current location of the Skatepark has led to noise complaints from nearby residents.  If moved, the city council has discussed installing a concrete skatepark, which would generate less noise compared to the current wood and metal structures at Swinyard Park. The Skatepark has been a source of tension between the city and a small group of nearby residents for many years.