LAKEWOOD RANCH — Greenbrook resident Lori Sudsberry was surprised that the spongy-soft artificial ground cover on the children’s playground at Adventure Park is now back to the way it looked before a flood damaged it.
“We had no idea it was repaired,” said Sudsberry, who came to the park Thursday with her 2-year-old daughter, Callie. “I’m very pleased because Callie enjoys it.”
The heavy rain in September left Adventure Park under water and was expected by some to have a long-term crippling impact.
Sections of the artificial surface from the tot playground were floating in a nearby lake. Tiles from the basketball court were missing.
And worst of all, portions of the bank of the retention pond that rimmed the trails had collapsed, washing out sections of the popular walking, biking and jogging trails near the park.
Early estimates pegged repair costs at about $80,000.
But the area now seems to have recovered.
The playground and nearby basketball court have been repaired in-house by operations manager Ryan Heise and his staff at virtually no cost, said supervisor Mike Spring.
During Thursday’s district meetings at Town Hall, Greenbrook supervisors announced that emergency reserve funds amounting to about $49,000 will be spent to repair the trails, which sustained the most damage of all the amenities.
“This is a time to tip our hats to Town Hall and Ryan’s staff for getting the playground and basketball court done for us without residents having to pay extra,” Spring said.
The trails also got another lift Thursday when supervisors announced that they will now be a regular part of the monthly landscape inspection by O.L.M., the firm that oversees the landscapers.
“This means that the trails will now be scored by O.L.M. as are other common areas,” Spring said.
During a walk-through on Greenbrook’s trails, a group of concerned Greenbrook residents noticed that marker posts were missing or broken in many areas of the trails and landscape debris was scattered in some spots.
“The frequency of mow- ing and weed control is not sufficient to ensure appropriate appearance of com- mon areas through and around the trails,” the group noted in a report to District 4 that was forwarded to Heise.
Brush often hangs over the trail in some areas and a foot bridge has gathered considerable debris from trees, including pine needles, presenting a potential footing problem, the report adds.
After receiving the report, Heise personally inspected the trails and asked Garden Leaders, the District 4 landscape company, to begin to address these issues, which the landscaper agreed to do, Spring said.
Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 6686.
Disclaimer: Story comments are intended to provide a place for constructive dialog about issues and events in our community. Your input is encouraged and can make a positive difference. To achieve this, no obscenity, personal attacks, or racial slurs are tolerated. Users brought to our attention for violating our terms of use will be blocked from commenting permanently and without notice. Please help keep the comments on topic by flagging objectionable material and remember that children and young adults may be reading your comments. With freedom of speech comes the responsibility to be respectful of others.
Email Story
Printer Friendly 
Quick Job Search
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@