Fixing up old NLV parks planned

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 10:22 a.m.

In several parks in North Las Vegas, old, rusted equipment greets children who come out to play every day.

City officials will change that with a $74,420 allocation approved last week by the City Council to fix up four parks in the mature part of the city -- College Park, Herbert Memorial Park, Tom Williams School Park and Windsor Park.

The allocation falls in line with the council's goal of improving the quality of life and recreation for residents, especially those in older parts of town. It also demonstrates their frustration over how to make renovations and build new parks without an outpouring of funds.

The recent allocation is the first major push in more than a year, Mayor Michael Montandon said, adding that most of the funds set aside in the past have been for piecemeal renovations.

A second phase of renovations for four more parks in the older part of the city will be up for council consideration in coming months, he said.

The allocation will involve upgrading outdated equipment, tennis and basketball court renovations and providing more picnic areas and shade at the parks.

Because the parks are more than 20 years old, they need to be brought up to compliance because many do not meet code, parks recreation manager Jim Stritchko said.

"They are going to love the upgraded facilities. Hopefully they will be a bit more user-friendly renovations," he said.

Part of the challenge with the parks department is maintenance because the parks are so heavily used, he said.

The department is trying to form a park ambassador program, where residents living near parks are asked to look for problems and report them, so they can be taken care of quickly by the department's staff.

The council's challenge is how to fund parks all over the city, especially in the older part of town where growth is stagnant.

A residential construction tax assessed on all new developments doesn't do much for those living in more mature sections of the city. The tax must stay in the district in which the money was generated. That has resulted in the northern part of North Las Vegas -- where most growth is occurring -- raking in all of the funds and new parks.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's idea for bringing more parks to older areas of Las Vegas is to ask the state Legislature to double impact fees on development to help pay for parks and spread the funds out across the city.

But Montandon said taking money from other districts would just set the city even further behind in its effort to build new parks.

"Right now, (the money) has to come from our general fund," he said, adding that there isn't any available right now.

Councilwoman Shari Buck disagrees and believes that money should be spread around.

"New growth can and should take care of the mature areas," she said. "It's not fair to let the older parks just die."