SIDE STREETS: Neighbors rally around their community park

City budget cuts weren’t going to deprive folks in Piñon Valley of their beloved neighborhood park.

Rather than risk it filling with trash, becoming overrun with weeds and its grass wilting in the summer sun, neighbors rallied like few others in Colorado Springs.

Led by Jeanette Givens, a half-dozen neighborhood associations near Mountain Shadows in Colorado Springs’ northwest edge joined to raise money and supply the muscle needed to empty trash cans, refinish picnic tables and benches, and cut weeds.

Their efforts climaxed Saturday when dozens showed up for a work session.

“Those folks have been great,” said Kurt Schroeder of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.

He first heard from them in early spring when news broke that drastic budget cuts would require trash cans to be removed from city parks. In addition, watering of parks would be slashed and general maintenance eliminated.

“They asked how they could help,” Schroeder said. “I gave them a rundown on what we were facing.”

That’s when Givens got busy.

She’s one of those folks every neighborhood needs. Since 1995, when she moved into the Green Valley Ranch subdivision north of the park, Givens has been a busy volunteer working to improve her neighborhood.

Givens served years as president of the Green Valley Ranch Homeowners Association. Then she joined the larger Piñon Valley Neighborhood Association — an umbrella group for several adjacent neighborhood groups. The association worked with the city as vacant land along Centennial Boulevard was developed during the past 25 years.

The association had not been very active recently, however, as development slowed.

But Givens thought it would be the perfect vehicle to use in the fight to preserve Piñon Valley park.

“When the announcement came out the city wouldn’t continue trash collection, it was decided something needed to be done,” Givens said. “Our park gets quite a lot of use.”

Folks living immediately along the park offered to empty trash cans if Givens could get some replaced by the city.

Then Givens called a meeting of the association to brainstorm strategies to protect Piñon Valley park.

Green Valley Ranch agreed to pay for a trash dumper in the park and pay for trash bags for the park’s cans.

Piñon Glen agreed to pay for a portable toilet since the city’s toilets were closed.

Piñon Ranch paid to distribute fliers to recruit donations and volunteers.

Before long the group had raised $8,500 to pay the city for extra water, fertilizer, grass seed and for trash collection.

“They are really a wonderful group,” Schroeder said. “They’ve done incredibly well.”

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See photos on my blog at
gazette.com/blogs/sidestreets