Two city parks in Bellevue are getting some upgrades this summer.
On Tuesday, Bellevue City Council approved funds for the improvements at Brun Park and Swope Park.
Playground equipment will be installed over the next two months in Brun Park, located at 419 Washington Avenue. Council approved purchase of the equipment from Miracle Playgrounds of Kentucky and Tennessee. Along with the playground, the city also plans to install a covered seating area on a concrete pad for families to sit while children are playing.
The entire project (playground and shelter) will run about $70,000, said Mayor Charlie Cleves. Installation of the equipment will start soon with the aim of having it completed before July 1. The covered area will take more time but will be started after the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1.
“We’re still toying with the exact size, but it’s going to be something like a 16 by 24 cover over a slab,” Cleves said. “There’s going to be a couple picnic tables to give the parents a place to sit…with enough room to have the two picnic tables and some space in between for little kids to play.”
For the covered area, as that part of the park design develops, the city will look to include space for very small children and toddlers to play safely, he said.
Brun Park was created through an Eagle Scout project and is named for longtime Bellevue Scoutmaster E. James Brun. It is one of several small “pocket parks” throughout the city.
Council also approved funding for a new aluminum fence for Swope Park at the corner of Taylor and Covert Run Pike. The fence will help keep stray balls from the basketball court and play areas from rolling into the street. The city recently added benches in Swope, and it is on the shortlist for new equipment and improvements in the future.
The fence will be purchased for about $2000 from Superior Fencing, Cleves said.