Parks Office Reports Busy, Successful Year – More to Come in 2020 – The Missourian

The Washington Parks Department started 2019 with a new parks and recreation director Wayne Dunker, who assumed his new duties Jan. 7.

Dunker has been working in this field all of his career, dating back to 2000. He moved around the St. Louis area working for different parks departments before coming to Washington.

Last year was a busy year, he said. I had a lot of things come in and out of this office, but now I have a better feel of things.

With one year under his belt, Dunker said he has a better handle on a lot of things, including the budget, the different events and the Washington Town & Country Fair.

Dunker did admit that the Washington Parks Department is a little busier than he expected, but he was able to accomplish quite a list in 2019.

Dunkers first task was updating athletic and facility fees. His office looked at comparable facilities and organizations, evaluated pricing and updated the fees accordingly. This also included fee increases for rentals for the senior center, pavilion, fairgrounds.

Several roofs in the park system have been replaced in the past year. This roof replacement was an ongoing project that started in 2018 after storms in 2017 damaged facilities.

What was most pleasing about the project was after the roofs were replaced the department had an excess of funding and was able to make other improvements. This included a renovation to the main park pavilion which now has new siding, paint, suffixing, gutters, as well as a new roof.

Another highlight was the opening of the front nine holes of Busch Creek Disc Golf at Burger Park and a new trail was installed with 1,700 square feet of wood fence around the quarry at Miller Post Nature Reserve, which is open.

The parks department also updated city hall with LED lighting, new windows and HVAC improvements. The lighting also was updated at the police station, library and fire houses.

Dunker said Washington participated in the America in Bloom Competition for the ninth year. The city finished first in the 12,000-14,000 population category and received special recognition for its flowers.

Some other accomplishments in 2019 included renovations at the South Point Dog Park, such as parking lot paving, sidewalk installation and landscaping; resolving the drainage issue at Lakeview baseball soccer field; receiving the Tree City USA award for the 14th year; installing an informational kiosk on the riverfront west trailhead; and other renovations and improvements in the Washington area.

Washington residents can expect to see several changes and exciting in the new year, according to Dunker.

The America in Bloom National Symposium will be held in Washington Oct. 1, which is expected to bring between 200 to 250 people to the city for the day.

The back nine holes at Busch Creek Disc Golf Course will open later this year and there will be new playgrounds in the main park, renovations to the Optimist skate park and updated and revised park entry signs.

The department also plans to install large and small dog fencing at South Point Dog Park.

The fountain at the Farmers Market parking lot will receive an upgrade this year as well.

Dunker explained that weather and river levels permitting, renovations will take place on the eastern portion of Rotary Riverfront Trail after MoDOT completes its work, which will allow the trail to reopen.

A big picture idea that the department is working on is continuing to evaluate how Washington can connect to the Katy Trail, Dunker said.

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Parks Office Reports Busy, Successful Year - More to Come in 2020 - The Missourian