Questions answered by Field during his presentation included the potential use of reclaimed water for vegetation, and since the park is adjacent to Safford Cemetery, facilities such as the amphitheater should be appropriately designed to produce sound and light. said it would be designed. Reduces the undo effect. The main idea is not to disturb your sensitive neighbors. In this case, it is to ensure that there is no noise pollution during the funeral while there are activities going on in the park at the same time.

“We will definitely look at ways to mitigate the impact,” Field said.

Kimley-Horn is a design consulting firm that, according to its website, combines “creative yet practical solutions, a sense of speed, and a focus on bottom line value” to meet the needs of specific projects. The city selected Kimleyhorn after going through an RFQ process.

“I’m so excited to be here tonight to talk about this new park in Safford,” Field said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the community to have a very interesting and different space in the new community park.”

In addition to the five main facilities, the area includes a bridge that spans the Graveyard Wash on both sides of the park, food truck courts, Ramadas, lawn areas, training stations, picnic areas, and game areas.

Field said he plans to develop a master plan with three design concepts by the end of July. From there, the City of Kimleyhorn will take input from the city and formulate a final master plan by mid-September. Construction is scheduled to begin in late spring 2024. The city has about $2.5 million in coronavirus relief funds for the park and plans to set aside $3 million to $4 million in funding, said Safford engineer Gabe Bowman, who is leading the project. rice field. plan. Further partnerships could reduce costs for the city.

After Field’s thorough presentation, the audience was asked to line up six stickers and stick them over the design elements they most wanted to incorporate into the park. Participants were free to mix and match any item, regardless of theme, but only six of his stickers were allowed to be placed on their favorite item.

One of the problems was that out of all the people in attendance, there were only a few people who I could be sure weren’t reporters, Safford City officials, or government officials. Therefore, so far we are the only ones expressing an opinion on the development of the park. The Gila Herald inquired about publishing various design elements online and allowing the public to vote for their favorites that way.

Bowman said Kimley Horn’s next presentation is months away, so there is still time to get input from the public and, importantly, young people.

“I’ll look into it. I’m not sure if there are any plans at the moment, but I’m going to do a little more outreach…whether we can get these guys a little more input. , maybe we’ll reach out on Facebook or something to see if we can get more input,” Bowman said.

theme

The four themes of the new park are “river”, “sky island”, “agriculture” and “mountain”. Graham County Superintendent Paul David suggested adding a pioneer theme.

Choose from a variety of styles for each of the 5 main amenities in line with each theme. You didn’t have to stay on the same theme, you could mix and match your favorite styles. Attendees could have voted for the Sorashima version of the playground equipment and the “natural” style Splash his pad, but chose Tri-Racing his zipline over the Sorashima-themed one.

“This is a brand new park,” Field said. “When you look at a park, you don’t often have the opportunity to start from scratch. is.”