Recreation and Open Space

Question: At one point in your life, you worked as a substitute teacher.

Answer: I did.

Question: So you know all about kids and their needs, so when it comes to recreation and open space, you were also familiar with what Gardner was lacking. So tell us about Bailey Brook Park and that idea and some of the efforts in bringing forward a space for younger kids.

Answer: I think Bailey Brook Park is one of the perfect examples of getting input from the community so that the product in the end is the best outcome for the community as a whole. When I took office, I inherited a plan for Bailey Brook Park that included a soccer field in the area, basketball courts, and some walking trails. And I still remember we had a community meeting in the parking lot of Bailey Brook Park where the residents of the street got to come out and we had a conversation with them and said, you know, what is it you want to see? What are your concerns? There were concerns about soccer tournaments on the weekends and whistles and how close they were to the houses that were on Leo Drive. And how do we make it so that we could fix things moving forward so that we could have something that’s optimal for the people who live there but also increases the recreational opportunities that were there for the city. And that’s how we landed on a disc golf course. We had a lot of demand for people who were looking for disc golf as a new upcoming sport that isn’t really disruptive because there’s leagues for it, but it’s nothing that you’re going to have these big whistles for. It’s nothing that you’re going to have these, and it was something that could follow along the walking path that was there. So that was something that was there. We did a review of all of our city playgrounds and we saw that all of our playgrounds were actually graded for ages five and older, and we didn’t have anything for our younger population that while they could use the swings and everything else in the other playgrounds, is that really the safest thing for someone who’s under the age of five or a toddler or things like that? So we built our first playground rated for people in that time frame and age frame to really get the best possible outcome that’s there, and there was a lot of good that came from that. And then there were concerns about the basketball noises in the neighborhood too, but they asked for pickleball. So we were like, all right, well, let’s change the plan from basketball to pickleball. And that’s how we took all of that community feedback that we got and made one of the best parks and playgrounds that we have in the city, and I’m really proud about that.