Several Cape parks projects near completion

Several updates are in the works for Cape Girardeau's parks and recreation spaces, some are nearing completion and others remain in planning stages.

The projects are the result of planning by the department, although past public input played a role.

Capaha Park

Work underway at Capaha Park is part of the master plan, said parks and recreation department director Julia Thompson. Phase 1 of the plan included replacement of the old playground in the area that once held Capaha Pool. During the planning stages, department staff realized the location was ideal for a pavilion. The finished product is designed to hold at least 100 people, making it an attractive location for group gatherings, Thompson said.

From the pavilion, the new playground equipment is easily visible. Staff took its time deciding what equipment should be installed at the park -- choosing sets that had a natural, outdoor theme. One section of the playground is suited for 2- to 5-year-olds, the other for children up to 12 years of age.

Kevin Weber and Tim Maynard, with the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, map out a spot Tuesday for a sidewalk around the new playground at Capaha Park. (Laura Simon)

Thompson said the city used local union labor to build the pavilion so the parks department's crews could focus on the playground. To the dismay of the many children seeing the equipment during park visits, wet weather has caused delays in the construction of the playground and the surrounding amenities.

While the construction of the playground equipment is mostly complete, work remains on landscaping and new, more accessible sidewalks. Thompson said ease of access to that area of the park has been an issue for several reasons, including elevation differences. Once the sidewalks are finished, visitors pushing wheelchairs and strollers should find the effort a little easier.

Completion date for the work depends on weather, although the playground area is expected to be open before the remaining work is finished.

"All of that [work] takes good weather days, and mud has been a factor," Thompson said. "But it's really starting to take shape. People in the area and our regular parkgoers are very, very excited about the improvements we have planned."

Persistent rain also played a role in a delay of the completion and opening of the new speed slide at Cape Splash. Thompson said the department is hopeful it will announce its opening date soon.

Once the weather warms, outdoor water amenities become some of the city's most popular attractions. If the projects outlined for Phase 2 of Capaha Park's master plan are realized, the park would have a cool-down station of its own.

For Phase 2, "should funding allow, we would be adding restrooms and a splash pad," Thompson said. A splash pad is estimated to cost about $250,000. She said within the next year or so, the city hopes to add a splash pad to the park area and new restroom facilities. Installing permanent structures rather than the portable restrooms being used, Thompson said, is a priority.

The city also plans to take a look at the Capaha Park pond. A stormwater and watershed study for the park by the Public Works Department should be finished in August. Stormwater flows into the pond, often bringing debris with it. Thompson said water quality "is not where we would like it to be," but she hopes a grant could be obtained to allow the department to drain and clean the pond, then reconfigure its edge.

Red House

Like Capaha Park, the downtown Red House Interpretive Center has several projects in the works.

One is building a beehive oven. Paul Nenninger, co-chairman of the Red House Interpretive Center Board, said it will be an outdoor oven, covered with a shelter. The beehive oven, named for its domed shape, will be built with cob -- a mixture of clay, sand and straw. Communities once gathered around these ovens to do their baking together, Nenninger said.

The Red House oven and its shelter will be built true to historic form.

"Because the oven is water soluble, we're going to build a kind of primitive shed to be true to the time frame of around the 1800s. It will be kind of rough-cut lumber with pine or cedar posts," he said.

An Eagle Scout candidate searching for a project contacted the Red House as it made these plans and is helping with the design. Board members will be assisting, but some labor will be dependent upon volunteers.

The Red House also hopes to get volunteers to help with the dugout canoe. Nenninger said they are looking for a 12- to 15-foot cottonwood log to begin the project.

"It's going to be one of those long-standing projects," he said. "Whittling a log can take a while. It will be one of those things kids and adults can put their hands on, get some interest."

Other projects in the works include an ox cart -- co-chairman Stanley Downs has created a scale model of such a cart and is leading the way on the project -- and wooden stocks. Nenninger expects the stocks -- hinged boards with holes to insert the head and hands that once served as a form of punishment -- will be popular for photo opportunities. They were in use in Cape Girardeau into the early 1800s, he said.

Planning ahead

While the work won't begin this summer, the parks and recreation department is eying other projects. The announcement of a ribbon-cutting for a demonstration garden at the Shawnee Park Center is expected to come soon. Cape Rock and Kiwanis are next on the list of parks to see some improvements, Thompson said. But the biggest issue on the department's horizon is updating its Parks and Trails Master Plan.

Department staff spent several meetings evaluating parks and trails, and soon the public will be asked to give their thoughts. Through an online survey available July 1, individuals can share what they do or don't like about the city's parks and what they would like to see in the future. The survey is available at 2015parksandrecsurvey.org. Hard copies may be picked up at the parks and recreation department offices.

Thompson said it's important people take advantage of the survey so the new master plan accurately reflects public interests. The master plan the department works from was finalized in 2007, she said.

"Things change. We've got a more diverse population, the university is growing, we're a regional attractor and growing," she said. "What was popular eight years ago may not be popular now, and that takes some thought process."

The initial plan was created before a 2008 vote for the parks and recreation and stormwater tax. Residents approved the half-cent sales tax, which since has helped fund stormwater improvements and parks amenities such as Cape Splash. A three-eighth-cent portion of the tax will sunset Sept. 30, 2018. The remaining one-eighth-cent tax, set aside for operations, has no sunset.

Thompson said the newest Parks and Trails Master Plan will be complete before 2018 so people have a chance to weigh in and review new projects to be funded by the renewal. In the meantime, the department plans to spend the rest of this year seeking input and prioritizing interests. Focus groups looking at needs and wants in certain recreation areas -- court sports, aquatics or tennis, for example -- will be formed in the fall and winter.

After the department has a sense of what the public likes about current facilities and what changes they support, Thompson said the information can be compiled and sorted by park. As projects are prioritized, the public could again weigh in on the projects.

The completion of so many projects and the beginning of the next chapter for the department leads up to the beginning of Parks and Recreation Month in July. The department celebrates each year with Parks and Recreation Day, to be held this year July 10. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, people can enjoy a free event at the Osage Centre featuring ice cream, crafts, games and prizes.

"The day has always been really, really popular," Thompson said.

About 1,000 people went to the event last year.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.