Despite considerable fuss from residents during a Wednesday work session, Avondale Estates’ Acting Mayor Terry Giager believes the re-development of 90-year-old Willis Park is close to happening.
City Manager Clai Brown gave a timetable with construction beginning in September and a possible grand opening in April, 2016, which Giager believes is realistic. He said that some details of the renovation presented by Chuck Ehmcke of jB+a Planning and Landscape Architecture, need scaling back. Giager said he’d like a budget closer to $550,000 than the proposed $816,000.
Residential complaints, however, had more to do with the park’s use by students of the nearby Museum School. “Technically the park is for residents only,” Giager said. “But that’s difficult to enforce, and besides we don’t restrict usage of [Lake Avondale].”
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