Father Hermes Park in Covington’s Lewisburg neighborhood may soon be born anew.
The park was once an attraction in the neighborhood for children and families but vandalism and fire forced the city to remove all of the equipment from the now vacant parcel of land.
The city and the Northern Kentucky Health Department have evaluated options for rebuilding the park and presented plans to the city commission last week.
“This is something the community could really benefit from,” said Michelle Bach of the Health Department. A health impact assessment (HIA) found that there was a lack of access to fruits and vegetables so the park plans include an option for gardening. Bach said the plan for the park would incorporate new playground equipment and other recreational opportunities while also allowing access to fruits and vegetables.
The design sketch presented last week included all the recommendations from the steering committee.
A play structure would be put back in place and an area for social events, benches, and picnic tables are also part of the plans. Bach said there would be no need for a new picnic shelter because the park site already has a tree canopy that could serve as that. Additionally, the play equipment would be fire proof when possible.
The design sketch was presented to neighbors and feedback was positive. The proposed community garden, per the suggestion of neighbors, would include perennials such as thornless berries and dwarf fruit trees to harvest apples. “We’re going to start with some perennials and see how that goes to really bring a community garden and a play structure, a place where people can be physically active and kids can play, and to bring back some of the activities that used to be in this park,” Bach said.
Some of the city’s federal funds have been allocated already to improve the park site, said Natalie Gardner, Covington’s programs and strategic projects manager. “We stopped and embarked on this HIA process to make sure the neighbors were getting what they wanted,” she said.
The cost of the plans are not yet known. “We will break down the site plan to see if there is an advantage to do this as one project or if we want to separate each piece to see what we can do in house,” Gardner said. She added that playground equipment manufacturers have a lot of programs and grants that the city would explore also.
“I think the neighborhood is excited about the potential of this park to be redeveloped and to get programs in there to draw people back to the community,” Bach said.
“I feel sorry for poor Lewisburg. They always seem to be forgotten for some reason,” Mayor Sherry Carran said. “When the weather was good they would be (at the park) almost every Saturday doing craft projects and it was a really special time for the kids. It will be good to see it back in use.”