About 40-neighbors of Manitowoc’s Dale Street Park attended a Public Infrastructure Committee meeting at City Hall last night. The city has considered selling-off the park, near Franklin Elementary School, as far back as 1995..and it has had its’ amenities scaled-back the past few years. A recent conversation has centered on not maintaining Dale Street Park, and focusing more on higher use parks nearby, like Halverson & Schuette. One of the neighbors, Joseph Van Ells, told committee members that “Its location is residential on one side and it’s got the old Custerdale development on the other side. There’s really no play area for kids and people that rent in the Custerdale Building.”
Another neighbor, Lynn Jungen, said she has observed older children using the facility, “playing touch football throwing balls back and forth for baseball”. She also said that the other parks are more geared toward younger children, and the openness of the Dale Street park is nice for the older children.
After public input and discussion, aldermen on the committee voted to place the proposal on file. Mayor Justin Nickels said that the park will stay as grassland and that they will continue to mow the park, but they are not going to put more money into the park. Instead, Nickels says, “they’ll focus on Halverson or Schuette (parks), which are right next door.”
