- Mayor Whipple of Mason shares plans and explains what neighbors can expect in the coming weeks.
- Next week, on Tuesday the 27th, there will be a public hearing to further discuss the controversy.
- A video shows neighbors in Bond Park saying nothing should change and the city should leave everything as it is.
(The following is a transcript of the entire broadcast)
Another park in Mason is controversial.
“There is a proposal to perhaps one day sell part of the park,” said Mason Mayor Russ Whipple.
As part of the Mason City Council’s 2023 Master Plan
“It wouldn’t just happen; it’s something that would be tested and reviewed.”
Mayor Russ Whipple says plans for Bond Park are still years away, but children in our neighborhoods are already worried.
“I really don’t want them to take away the baseball field because we’re always up there,” said a high school student from Mason.
According to the proposed plan, part of the park could be sold to create housing on eight lots. Whipple says the plan also calls for repurposing the baseball field.
“I think it’s a waste. I think this area is much better as it is than if housing is created there.”
Although there are plans to preserve the skate park, changes are also planned.
“Green spaces, a playground, a gazebo, a nicer bathroom and other amenities,” Whipple said.
There could be a hurdle, however. According to Whipple, the City Council does not have the right to sell park land if it is included in the master plan.
“While any other city-owned property could be sold by the City Council’s decision alone,” Whipple said.
The council therefore plans to vote on an amendment that would remove the parks from the master plan and leave the decision to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission is holding an open house and public hearing next week.
“We are doing this to give the city more flexibility in managing the areas that make up the parks.”
Local officials will be present and neighbors are encouraged to ask questions.
“I will be there and give my opinion.”
Whipple says there will be an open house at 4:30 p.m. and the hearing on Tuesday, the 27th, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
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