The city’s Parks & Recreation Department is giving people a say in how they’ll play.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 14-15, the city will have public meetings to help create a 10-year parks plan.
As project manager Kelly Boatwright puts it: “Where would they like to see their tax dollars go?”
The city has nearly 50 parks and other recreational and gathering facilities ranging from Apache Park to Woodstork Trail. Some are passive-use parks. Others, such as the Port St. Lucie Community Center, have gyms, classes and community gathering places.
More facilities are coming. For example, Winter Lake Park on Jannebo Street, when built, is slated to have ball fields, basketball courts, fitness stations and a dog park. The city has a request for proposals open for that project.
The city has at least one place in St. Lucie West to build park facilities. In August the City Council approved an agreement with the St. Lucie West Services District that will allow it to build park facilities at the Lake Harvey stormwater treatment area at the intersection of Southwest Cashmere and St. Lucie West boulevards. The district got the 12.5-acre property to build a stormwater retention area in 2014. Conversation about turning it into a passive-use park, too, started while the district was still purchasing the land. In early 2016 the St. Lucie West Services District Board of Supervisors revived the passive-use park talk and turned to the city to add those amenities. Whatever the city opts to do, the district will have to approve, too.
At press time, there are no active plans for Lake Harvey. Boatwright said that’s one of the topics planners would like more community opinions about.
“There’s a lot of growth in the community and we want to grow parks and recreation with them in a good direction,” she said.
The only city park in St. Lucie West is McChesney, at 1585 SW Cashmere Blvd. It has a playground and soccer fields.
“If there are other things they’d like to see happen on that side of town, they need to come tell us,” Boatwright said. “We know there’s a big need for amenities on that side of town.”
Dennis Pickle, manager and utilities director of the services district, said it looked at other vacant properties it owns to offer the city when there was discussion about a dog park in St. Lucie West. He said neighbors to the properties all expressed disapproval for that use. However, the district would consider other proposed city Parks & Recreation uses depending on neighborhoods’ responses. He said the city owns property close by to First Data Field as well.
Boatwright said facilities is only one side of Parks & Recreation. There’s also programming – activities that the city hosts. She says meeting attendees are encouraged to voice their ideas about both.
“We are wanting to get the impute of the community — what they’d like to see happen in our department (over the next decade),” she said.
The meetings will be at 5:30 p.m. The Thursday meeting will be at Minsky Gym, 750 SW Darwin Blvd. The Thursday meeting will be at Port St. Lucie Civic Center, 9221 Civic Center Place.
For more info: www.cityofpsl.com/government/departments/parks-recreation.
