- Quiana Sandres-Spears, a California City resident, is upset that a new splash pad is being built for Central Park rather than Balsitis Park.
- Sandres-Spears recently made a home video about the help needed to improve Balsitis Park. It sparked a cleanup at the park and Balsitis was on the agenda at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
What you see here is an empty space but many residents near Balsitis Park saw a perfect spot for a splash pad. Instead, it’s going to Central Park.
“It was like, kinda like, you know how you just rip a scab off. It was pretty, like, messed up,” said Quiana Sandres-Spears, a California City resident.
Quiana Sandres-Spears, a California City resident, and a group of children were hit with the bad news at a City Council meeting a few months ago.
A splash pad was coming to Balsitis Park, but a few months ago, the city council decided to move it back to the original location at Central Park.
It’ll be near a new skate park. Each project will cost $800,000.
Mayor Kelly Kulikoff says it's expected to be ready for the summer of 2024.
Initially, the splash pad appeared to be a less-than-ideal spot for Central Park because of the duck-billed residents nearby.
That’s when the ‘pad’ plans moved for Balsitis Park on the east side.
However, after more research, Kulikoff led the process to have the splash pad built at Central Park.
“It’ll be better suited at Central Park where it’s more located for everybody to come, instead of a pocket park," Kulikoff said.
Sandres-Spears doesn’t agree.
“When they kept referring to this park as a pocket park … I mean, come on now. It’s too big to be a pocket park," she said.
Sandres-Spears says more should be done at Balsitis Park. She recently made a home video about the help needed. It sparked a clean-up and Balsitis was on the agenda at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Kulikoff believes the splash pad’s move back to central park is a reason some want to recall him.
“We can’t make everybody happy but we’re trying to strategically move the city in the right direction when there’s all these problems that we have to juggle," Kulikoff said. "So we have to make decisions and unfortunately those decisions aren’t always the popular opinion of some people.”
Kulikoff says a playground renovation and a new basketball court will arrive at Balsitis Park in the coming year.
I’m Steve Virgen your neighborhood reporter in California City.
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