Plan boasts many options for play
Proposed park to include aquatics center, ball fields, walking paths
CHENEY – Ball fields, a dog park and an aquatics center with both indoor and outdoor facilities have been included in a draft plan for Betz Park after a survey showed many residents favor an aquatics facility that may include a lap pool.
Cheney park commissioners got their first look at the plan at their regular meeting last week, but, without a quorum, couldn’t make any decisions. Kerry Pease, Craig Witt and Vern Brock were the only commissioners in attendance.
Park planners decided that little league baseball fields and an aquatics facility were amenities that many Cheney residents want at the park. Their draft plan for the 50 acres at the corner of Betz and Betz reflects residents’ ideas offered at two public meetings and in a survey that was mailed to about 4,000 residents along with utility bills.
The draft includes a pedestrian connection for walkers who would like to safely cross Betz to visit the park, an aquatics center with both indoor and outdoor facilities, three softball/little league fields, a baseball field, a dog park, picnic shelters, an amphitheater, walking trails, natural meadows and open spaces, a skate park, tennis courts, open play fields and more.
“(Our concern was,) ‘Was this really enough or were we getting special interest groups,’ ” said Anne Hanenburg, a landscape designer at Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis. “This (the survey) was validating what we were hearing at public meetings,” she said.
Hanenburg said 379 were returned to the firm and all were tabulated.
“That’s not too bad when you compare it to other communities,” she said.
Of the respondents, 191 said that an aquatics facility was the most important amenity of a future park. The second most important amenity to the respondents was to use the park for cultural or leisure purposes, coming in at 122.
Most of the respondents said that a lap pool was most important to answer the question, “What elements of an aquatics facility are most important to you?”
Since they could take no action, board members decided to discuss at their September meeting whether to finalize the draft version of the plan and forward it to the City Council or to recommend changes for the designers.