Parks master plan consultant recommends selling off some neighborhood parks

Jul. 26—For the past year, a consulting team hired by the City of Stillwater has been taking an in-depth look at the city's park system. Its conclusion: At 817 acres, Stillwater has more park than it needs or can effectively maintain.

Some park land could be sold and other areas could be seeded with wildflowers to reduce the need for mowing and lower maintenance costs, Connie Scothorn of CLS & Associates told the councilors.

In addition to having twice the average amount of park land, Stillwater has other options for recreation and green space, including Oklahoma State University's campus and the open campuses and playgrounds at Stillwater's nine school sites, according to the report.

The study included an inventory of the community's main recreation assets including:

—Mini parks like Chris Salmon Plaza, Tower Park, Sunset Park and West Park

—Neighborhood parks like Berry, Myers, Arrington, Arrowhead, Ingham and Centennial parks

—Community parks like Babcock, Southern Woods, Couch, Whittenberg, Hoyt Grove and Strickland parks

—Metropolitan parks like Boomer Lake and Sanborn Lake

—Facilities like the Armory Recreation Center, Prairie Arts Center, Stillwater Community Center, Senior Center, Municipal Pool and Kameoka Trail

Some neighborhood parks were not found to be well-used, based on feedback from the public and the results of a survey that received just under 800 responses. The consultants recommended selling some of those parks that had high development potential. The following parks could be sold, according to the consultant's assessment:

Arrowhead Park, which covers 1.01 acres at 1807 W. Arrowhead Pl. could be turned into approximately seven residential lots with a small green space at the east corner.

Berry Park, which covers 3.57 acres at South Berry Street and East Maple Avenue, and is near Arrington Park — a park that gets much more use — could also be developed into residential housing.

Centennial Park, which covers 1.78 acres near Sixth Avenue and Perkins Road, serves no discernible purpose besides showcasing a Welcome to Stillwater sign. It would be a good location for food trucks or other small vendors and could be sold or given away.

Sunset Park, which covers one acre at W Eighth Avenue and Washington Street, consists of four tennis courts, which are not used as much as the courts at Couch Park. It could be highly valuable for parking or further development.

Tower Park, which covers .83 acres at South Walnut Street and West University Avenue, has basketball courts that are in bad condition and are no longer a popular feature. The land has high value because of its proximity to the OSU campus and could be sold or swapped for other university-owned land.

West Park, which covers .34 acres at the corner of Charles Drive and Fourth Place, is a standard homeowner association park that is too far out to be used by anyone but the neighborhood. It's location makes it expensive for the City of Stillwater to maintain. It should be given to the neighborhood so the City wouldn't be responsible for maintenance.

Whittenberg Park, which covers 78.02 acres at 5500 N. Washington St., has baseball and football fields that are in good condition and it offers a good location for more soccer fields if they are needed in the future. Some of the land is adjacent to a high-end residential area and its proximity to Sanborn Lake and Lakeside Golf Course could make a portion of the property a good candidate for sale to commercial and residential developers.

The report makes recommendations for improving the remaining parks and other facilities like the Stillwater Community Center and Senior Activity Center. Replacing the Municipal Pool with a new aquatics facility was listed as a high priority.

Although the Council was not prepared to take action on any of the items, Councilor Amy Dzialowski said the information offered in the report — the first time the City has done this — will be very helpful. The report did not include the current maintenance budget for parks and that hasn't been easy to get, since the City no longer has a dedicated Parks and Recreation Department, she said.

Funding continues to be a question, as is staffing.

City Manager Norman McNickle said the City is understaffed and does not have enough people to improve park maintenance.

Being very transparent and honest will be critical as the City moves forward with the discussion about its park system, Vice-mayor Alane Zannotti said.