Letters to the Editor - An open letter to Park Commissioner President John Irwin - An open letter to Park Commissioner President John Irwin

I’m writing to find out what is happening with the Master Plan for Webber Park? Very little of what was promised has come to fruition with one exception, the closing of our wading pool for the summer of 2013. It is indeed closed, for no good or visible reason. We were told that construction would begin last summer and it did not. We were told we would have a grand opening in 2013. We will not. We were told the wading pool would be closed for construction this summer and as of yet there seems to be none. If my tone sounds like I am irritated it is only because I am.

We are now into our third year of no swimming at Webber Park, an amenity that was there for 100 years. It has not gotten better, only worse, as now we also do not have a wading pool. We lost 110 trees to the tornado and until the Park Board moves forward, we will not have those replanted. 

Indeed, all we are seeing is a promise to cut down many more trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer threat.

The pond is losing its water and each day looks more and more like a cesspool. I believe the Park Board received some federal compensation for damage to Webber Park by the tornado, thus it only seems fair that we should be moving forward with some repairs to the damage that the tornado caused.

Commissioner Irwin, I have always respected your leadership in the Park Board. I believe that you are a compassionate person, who works for equity. 

I hope you will begin to move the Master Plan forward and also the repairs from the tornado. If not, we should revisit the whole plan and put a regular pool back into the park for the children of this neighborhood.

Susan Quist

Webber-Camden