Morgan Park Playground to Be Installed by Summer

Freddie O'Connell attended last night's Metro Parks Master Plan and he found out some important information about Morgan Park's playground, ballfield, and greenway spur, all of which have been incomplete for some time:

I specifically asked about Morgan Park and the attached community center. Some good news and bad news:

• a playground is on order and should be fully installed by summer of 2008
• continued incremental improvements are scheduled throughout the year, including planned gardens and continued renovation of the community center
• no word on the status of the field
• the greenway spur cannot be completed until Metro Water Services completes construction at its facility, so it is not currently scheduled

Curt Garrigan, the assistant director of Metro Parks, gave an overview of the Master Plan prior to these community meetings. It's an impressive plan, and his command of the knowledge was similarly impressive.

I think we'll see progress affecting our only neighborhood park, but we need to ensure that Metro Parks does not suffer a 15% budget cut this year. Times are going to be tight for Metro during 2008, so I encourage each of you to think about what your budget priorities are and to stay in touch with Councilwoman Gilmore about them. Based on the mayor's campaign agenda, I suspect that MNPS and MNPD will have their requests met or nearly met. Every other department and agency is going to be in serious competition for Metro dollars, and it is our input that will inform which ones have priority. The mayor's budget hearings started this week, and his budget will go before council in the spring.

It is bad enough that Morgan Park is among those parks having faced cuts and closures in the past. So, Freddie is right. We need to stay on top of Metro's plans and work to make sure that it does not get short shrift again.