Park grants are good investments

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August 29, 2012

Park grants are good investments

Anonymous The Muskogee Phoenix Wed Aug 29, 2012, 11:23 PM CDT

— Muskogee is seeking to raise all city parks to a comparable level.

Mark Wilkerson, Muskogee Parks and Recreation director, says two grants totaling more than $300,000 will advance those efforts in Ruby and Beckman parks.

The grants are in addition to a $2.5 million commitment by the City of Muskogee Foundation to improve the city’s parks.

Parks and trails are an important part of city life. They enhance the appearance of the city and improve the quality of life of Muskogee citizens.

Great parks also draw visitors. Certainly Honor Heights and the River Country Family Water Park draw a good share of tourists to the community.

We should not, however, focus only on the big draws. We need great neighborhood parks as well.

These grants, and the work that has gone into smaller parks recently, are encouraging.

The efforts of the Robison Park Community Association has helped to drive and support efforts to improve Ruby (formerly Robison) Park. The group’s work has been invaluable.

However, it is good to see the city working to make improvements to other neighborhood parks.

And it is great to see more evidence, in the form of funding, of the City of Muskogee Foundation’s commitment to the parks and to the quality of life in our community.

Good quality of life not only means residents are happier. It also makes the city attractive to newcomers.

Improving quality of life in Muskogee also makes us more attractive to business and industry, making recruitment easier.

Money invested in improvements to our parks is money well spent.

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