By Brittany Hanson/Garden Grove Journal
Dollar for dollar, part of Hollenbeck Park will start moving closer to reopening. At Tuesday’s city council meeting in Stanton, Mayor Pro Tem David Shawver said that he and others would help match the Hollenbeck Advisory Committee for half of the $2,400 bill for the first year.
“We will match you dollar for dollar,” said Shawver.
The bill to open the park covers water costs for irrigation. Only the northern end of the park, on Lola Street, will be re-opened and watered.
This part of the park contains a grass area and playground equipment for children.
The city will be responsible for annual maintenance and any equipment issues. The park advisory committee will be responsible for mowing the grass, clean up and graffiti removal.
Advisory committee leader Victor Barios said that he wants to see the park opened again and would be willing to write the first check for $100 then and there at city hall.
Checks and money earmarked for the park are to go to the Stanton Community Foundation which will then direct to a fund for Hollenbeck. The managing of that will be handled between the advisory committee and Jim Box, Stanton’s assistant city manager and director of Parks and Recreation.
As a grandfather, he said it is important for kids to be able to run around and have fun there.
Barios, in a wheelchair, has gone so far as to mow the entire park, not the just the north end, in a seated mower. The process took him he said, around eight hours and he would do it again if needed.
Council member Brian Donahue said that what Barios and others may want to do is to focus directly on the north end of the park.
“Work on the part of the park that you want open, that has the equipment that you want to use . . . focus on that,” said Donahue.
Another point that was raised about the re-opening of the park is the issue of people coming in from other parts of town and parking on Lola Street and clogging the road.
It was suggested that the curb on the north and south side of Lola Street be painted red to prevent such a problem. Notices will be put out to the surrounding neighborhoods asking for their input on that situation.
