Parks committee alters Deer Ridge Park plan

MORRIS – There’s been a change in the immediate plan for Phase III of development at Deer Ridge Park.

After a lengthy discussion during its meeting Thursday, the City of Morris’ Parks and Annexation Committee decided to seek an estimate for the cost of seeding and adding an erosion blanket to the grounds at the park, which is part of the Deer Ridge Homes subdivision.

The plan as of two weeks ago was to install more playground equipment this fall and do earthwork next year.

“It’s a big change in plans,” Mayor Richard Kopczick said.

Morris City Engineer Guy Christensen will calculate the estimated cost before City Council votes on whether to go out for bid on the rental of equipment to do the work. To save money, the city intends to use Public Works employees to perform the work.

Two weeks ago, the city was looking at the possibility of using donated dirt and the transportation of it from the land beneath upcoming industrial development to construct an exercise hill at the park next year.

What shifted the earthwork to the forefront is that Debbie Donato of Deer Ridge Homes informed the committee the company elected to match an agreement the city hoped to reach with industrial developers.

This includes supplying the dirt and movement of it. The subdivision has extra dirt leftover from digging home foundations.

The free dirt and movement of it could save the city upward of $20,000, Kopczick said, and be used for other park needs. The city had budgeted $30,000 of park work this year.

“That $30,000 keeps stretching farther,” Alderman Duane Wolfe said.

Phase III now includes crown leveling of the baseball diamond at the park to alleviate water pooling during large rain events and the addition of the exercise hill that will surely be used for sledding in the winter.

Kopczick said fall is the ideal time to plant seed and let it germinate. If it doesn’t grow enough, it will in March when winter breaks.

The committee hopes to squeeze playground equipment installations into the budget in March or April, but Kopczick said the city won’t go over the budgeted dollars to do so.

Before this project, there was no park in the Deer Ridge neighborhood.

In November 2011, Deer Ridge subdivision developers came before the committee requesting a park be developed on the land it dedicated to the city when the subdivision originally was platted.