If You Build It, They Will Come

On the morning after the swings were finally installed, there were kids swinging before 6:30. There were kids swinging all day and the day after that and the day after that. There was even a chess game or two played on one of the new tables last Thursday evening.

Comments about the improvements to the Park have been positive and enthusiastic. There have been a couple of criticisms about the exercise stations. One station is not what the Association ordered - but then board members overseeing the improvements were not allowed by the City to check the orders before installation. It is an item on the NPNA punch list - but will City officials allow even that input? So far, there has been no word about a proposed meeting for a walk through to include NPNA members as well as contractors and City officials.

Finishing Touches

The work is just about done. Newman Park has new exercise stations, colorful benches and tables and even a new dog waste stand. (It's called a "Pet Waste" stand; but do you think intelligent cats need it?)

The swings are hung and a thick layer of mulch covers the ground below the swings.

Of course, there will have to be a walk through and a punch list made before the job is really done. NPNA Vice President, Becky Friesenhahn, and Jim Tolbert drew up a list recently of items that need to be rectified.

The good news is that the job is just about done.

You can see more pictures of park improvements at the Newman Park Neighborhood Association Facebook page.

Finishing the Jobs at Newman Park

Contractors were putting in the last of the 4 exercise stations at the park today. The new benches and tables have already been installed. The swings have arrived and will be assembled once the mulch gets delivered - hopefully tomorrow.

The Newman Park Neighborhood Association has asked the City to be part of the punch list team. The response from City officials is that public participation is not customary. How come? Shouldn't it be the standard operating procedure? Representative Byrd has sent out word asking that all be involved.

Newman Park Projects Will Be Completed by Next Wednesday

Newman Park Neighborhood Association VP, Becky Friesenhahn, met with the contractor working on the NIP project at Newman Park today. It appears that benches, tables and exercise stations will be placed as the neighborhood association specified. Moreover, there seems to be confirmation that the products ordered will indeed be installed.

According to City engineers, the exercise equipment will be received tomorrow and installed by next Wednesday. City engineers also said that the swings will be installed by the same date.

There's Almost a Wall but Where Are the Swings?

And where are the benches, the new tables, the exercise stations? Remember the park improvements funded by the NIP money are supposed to be installed by July 20th - just 10 working days away. I've been told that no concrete pads or work on re-routing irrigation will begin until the new equipment actually is delivered. Hmmm . . .

There are some real heroes (or heroine) regarding the two year saga with the NIP project. More on that when the new equipment has finally been installed.

As you can see by the above picture, the perimeter wall for the new swings is almost complete. It is slow going with 2 or 3 men working slowly throughout almost all of the day.

Slow but Sure: the Swings Will Go Here . . .

In the last Newman Park Neighborhood Association e-letter I wrote:

"Work on the addition to our playground of swings continues. The City has also promised us that benches, tables and exercise stations will be installed by July 20^th. That’s just 20 work days from now. Hmmmmm. Our neighborhood association began work on securing the Neighborhood Improvement Program grant for the benches, etc. nearly two years ago. "

Okay. So now we are down to 18 days. It will be amazing to see the swings in by then.

Newman Park Swing Project Continues

Award winning photographer and Newmanista, Marco Milazzo, shot the above today. The swing project is slow going but looking good.