'It's your park. What do you want?' | Residents in one neighborhood to share ideas for the future of one Louisville park

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- There are more than 100 parks maintained across the Louisville Metro.

Some of them are central to their communities. The city has worked to improve a number of them, and now Councilman Ken Herndon (D-4) is turning his attention to California Park.

"As all parks do, there's a cycle of maintenance," said Herndon. "The (basketball) goals could be replaced. New paint on the (court) stripes. There are the tennis courts over there that don't have nets."

Other neighbors point to the bent portions of the fence surrounding the park, and a couple of sections are missing. There are also cracks in sidewalks and benches that need to be refinished.

The spray ground, once considered top-of-the-line, is now older and does not work reliably.

Dr. Georgia Turner operates a family-focused program out of the California Community Center that faces the park, and says the kids are sometimes left disappointed when they want to cool off.

"During the summer, we have summer camp as well," Dr. Turner said. "Sometimes we did go out there, and it did not work for our kiddos."

Herndon is convening a meeting Oct. 11 to address maintenance issues, some severe. He's inviting the Parks and Recreation director and neighbors to share ideas for the park's future.

He cited the net-less tennis courts as an example where neighbors can provide input.

"Do we want them as tennis courts again? Do we want something else?" asked Herndon.

Dr. Turner says her priority is safety for families. She would like to see the fields maintained to prevent injuries and also have a better sense of security.

"I would think more cameras," said Dr. Turner. "Make sure the fencing is up and just basically implementing that, you know, when it's getting dark outside, that you know the park is relatively clear. Again, we just want folks safe. That's important."

Brittany Clay volunteers at the Farmers Market held at the park on select Sunday afternoons when the center is closed.

"And we're out there all this time, and there's really not a lot of places where we can just leave to use the bathroom," said Clay.

That's why she would like to see an outdoor accessible bathroom.

Neighbors and users of the park can come share their ideas in person at a meeting on Saturday, October 11, from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. If you cannot attend, officials say there will be a way to share ideas online.