Councilwoman spearheads playground improvements in district

Councilwoman spearheads playground improvements in district
Keith Doles paints a colorful mural on the basketball courts at Crabtree Park.

If District 5 City Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber has a mission, it is to improve the playgrounds in her district. 

Whether it be Crabtree Park in Lakewood, Angelina Danese Park on St. Augustine Road in San Marco, or Friendship Park on the South Bank, Cumber has been doing her best to ensure the children in her district will have a decent place to play.

 “I’m trying to build up all the playgrounds in my district,” said Cumber. 

For Crabtree Park, located adjacent to Lakewood Promenade at 1704 University Blvd. West, it means coordinating with the Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department to paint murals on the basketball courts and install new playground equipment. 

Keith Doles, a local artist who has a workshop at CoRK Studios in Riverside, was selected to paint the colorful murals on two of the courts at Crabtree. He is working with three assistant artists, Rameses Spyder Allen, Adrian Rhodes, and Iven Gillespie on the five-week project that is slated to be finished by Halloween. 

Both of the murals have a “celestial” concept, said Doles, who explained that the mural on one court – “Celestial Titan” represents a god-like being playing ball with planets, while the other, which is entitled, “Adrenaline,” represents a teenage boy playing basketball.

Cumber said she worked with City Parks Director Daryl Joseph in selecting Doles’ design. “I wanted to make sure I picked something so that if you were playing basketball, it was not going to make you nauseous,” she said. “It’s going to be super cool. Those courts get used so much. It will brighten up everything.”

Cumber has also worked to have $80,000 of new playground equipment installed in Angelina Denese Park on St. Augustine Road. The project is in the procurement stage, she said, and the new playground should be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, a new and improved park near Friendship Fountain on the South Bank is also scheduled to have some new playground facilities, Cumber said. Recently she met with Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer and representatives of the City Parks Department to discuss the park improvements that will be installed by the end of 2021. Among the new amenities will be a beautiful garden, and “amazing” playground equipment including a play structure shaped like a large ship akin to the one commanded by Jean Ribault, a French naval officer who attempted to colonize Florida in the 1500s. The play structure will be designed and built by the same firm that designed and constructed the Peter Pan Ship in the Princess Diana Playground near Kensington Palace in London, Cumber said.

Where did the ducks go?

Colonial Manor residents are wondering where the waterfowl at the Duck Pond has gone.
Colonial Manor residents are wondering where the waterfowl at the Duck Pond has gone.

In San Marco, Cumber said she has been working with city officials to discover whether water issues are preventing ducks and geese from making a home at the Duck Pond in Colonial Manor Park. The park consists of a five-acre lake and a narrow strip of land adjacent to San Jose Boulevard. In years past, it has been a haven for ducks and geese, but during the last few years residents have complained that the waterfowl have disappeared, Cumber said, noting the water facility’s true purpose is to serve as a stormwater retention pond for the neighborhood. To seek a remedy, she is having city officials do pH-balance and oxygen testing to see if there is toxicity in the water. 

The Environmental Quality Division tested for nutrients along with dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature,” according to an email sent by the City to The Resident Oct. 26. The City found that “the Colonial Duck Pond does have a slightly higher pH than surrounding areas. Nearby ponds were also tested and found to be within the normal pH range. The area was also surveyed for potential commercial and industrial sources. No source was found.”

An alligator has been seen to hang out near the sidewalk near the corner of Old San Jose Boulevard and Alhambra Drive North.
An alligator has been seen to hang out near the sidewalk near the corner of Old San Jose Boulevard and Alhambra Drive North.

One reason for a reduction in the number of waterfowl could be foxes in the neighborhood or the alligator that has been seen walking down the streets in Colonial Manor as it occasionally makes its way from the river to the Duck Pond, she said.

Joe Honeycutt, who has a home looking out on the pond, doesn’t believe predators are the reason the ducks are gone. He believes fertilizer and herbicides from neighborhood lawns may have caused the pond to become toxic. Any ducks that have taken up residence in the pond over the past few years were brought in by residents in the neighborhood, he said, and most have been killed while trying to cross San Jose Boulevard. 

Thrill Bridge

Graffiti has been removed and new fencing is going to be installed underneath the Thrill Bridge on River Road.
Graffiti has been removed and new fencing is going to be installed underneath the Thrill Bridge on River Road.

Cumber also said she has been working to have the City put up fencing underneath the “Thrill Bridge,” on River Road in San Marco.  The bridge crosses over a small channel which connects the St. Johns River to Lake Marco and underneath was covered with graffiti. It had become a camp for the homeless, she said. 

“I actually climbed down there at 6 a.m. and saw that someone had an ottoman, a book, a toilet, and a ceramic figurine under the bridge,” Cumber said, noting she had the City’s blight unit come and clear it out. Since then, the City Public Works Department has painted over the graffiti. 

“Public Works is working on extra fencing down by the water so it won’t impede boat traffic under the bridge but will deter people from crawling under it,” she said.

By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News

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