A Newport park is set for a major refresh, with city officials planning to replace aging playground equipment and improve other key amenities.
The Newport City Commission held a first reading on March 16 to approve a project that will replace Clifton Neighborhood Park’s 30-plus-year-old playground equipment, install new swings, park benches and landscaping, and repair the basketball court. Clifton Neighborhood Park is located at 64 18th St.
“I think this is really an important quality of life improvement,” said Newport Vice Mayor Julie Smith Morrow. “I’m glad we’re going through parks one by one. If we approve this tonight, I think it’ll be really great for the kids and kids at heart, smart, modern, safe equipment. It’s wonderful.”
The cost of the playground equipment and its installation is $49,907.94. Newport Municipal Specialist Josh Tunning said the cost was included in the city’s budget last year. Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said that part of the high cost for the playground equipment is the risk management component to ensure it is safe equipment and installed safely.
“This (park equipment) has served us very, very well,” said Newport Manager John Hayden. “It has gone through a lot. It has had some abuse. It’s been set on fire before, we’ve replaced pieces of it.”
Tunning said thanks to a partnership with the Clifton Neighborhood Association, the city also secured a $10,000 grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation to expand the scope of work at the park. That grant will help pay for the new trash can, landscaping, a new basketball rim and repairs to the basketball court’s asphalt and concrete.
“Brian [Steffen] and I were up there today, and it’s amazing, with the basketball court, there were four or five basketballs lying there, so you can tell the kids are playing on the broken concrete and the basketball goal itself is a little wobbly,” Hayden said. So I think we’ll have some happy kids when this gets taken care of.”
Though Tunning didn’t have an exact timeline for the project’s completion, he said it should be done by the summer.
“As we look through our whole city, there’s a lot of focus on areas in the base, and I think this is very exciting that we’re also going through great lengths to look out for our neighbors up on the hill,” said Newport Commissioner Mike Radwanski.