HARLINGEN — Lost behind the news of the city’s three new all-inclusive playgrounds, little Bonham Park’s rejuvenation continues this summer.
The $160,000 makeover includes new midnight blue playground equipment, swings and a new paved parking lot to replace the old dusty parking area.
“We still need to do some more upgrades here,” Parks Superintendent Jeff Lyssy told the Parks and Recreation Department board yesterday. “We need to install an irrigation system.
“In fact, the purchase order was issued yesterday to establish meter service out there, and once we do that, we can establish irrigation so we don’t have brown dirt — we can seed it and roll it in,” Lyssy added.
Funding for the playground equipment and installation came from several sources, including a $112,000 Community Development Block Grant, as well as an $18,000 grant from GameTime, the commercial playground installer the city has used often.
“Behind that playground is where the parking lot used to be,” Parks Director Javier Mendez told the board, “so we’re going to close that off and use this paved parking lot.”
Unlike the more expensive all-inclusive playgrounds, Bonham won’t have synthetic landing pads installed on the entire playground area.
“We didn’t have that grand of a budget, so what we decided to do is put it around the actual playground equipment itself, the synthetic turf,” Lyssy said.
Instead, Lyssy said, installed under the playground equipment world be “wood fiber or kiddie cushion or safety surfacing.”
“Just wood chips is what it’s going to be,” he added.
Parks and recreation officials didn’t give a timetable for completing the Bonham Park project.
“I think its going to be a good, safe playground,” Lyssy added.
WHERE: Intersection of E. Jefferson Avenue and N 21st Street
AMENITIES: 0.5 acres, playground, picnic tables and benches, covered picnic shelter
NEW: Playground equipment with slides and climbing towers, swings, paved parking lot
