The new Louis “Jake” Morgan Legacy Park in Cisco is about three-quarters finished, according to Justin Jaworski, Executive Director of the Cisco Development Corporation (CDC). Completion is expected in December.
The park will feature a splash pad; a playground with traditional equipment; a wide open AstroTurf field for games like football or frisbee; an amphitheater where musical concerts or drama productions can be staged; and a covered pavilion where vendors can set up at festivals.
Located off 5th Street behind the Fire Department and next to the Conrad Hilton Museum, the park is being built to honor the memory of Jake Morgan, longtime proprietor of Farm & Ranch Supply, who died in 2019 at the age of 97. The park is where his business, often referred to as the Lumber Yard, was located.
For a very limited time citizens can take advantage of purchasing a personalized brick paver for their own legacy. Etch a name, a verse, or a phrase to one of two sizes of bricks available. The bricks are affordable for everyone but are limited in availability so don’t miss out! The funds raised will help the project get across the finish line on funding this wonderful project for the community.
October 1 is the deadline for purchasing a custom-engraved brick to be placed at the entrance of the park. A 4-by-8-inch brick will cost $100, and an 8-by-8-inch brick will cost $200.
Citizens can order the bricks at the following website: https://www.fundraisingbrick.com/online-orders/ciscosafe/
The three groups involved in the creation of the park are the CDC; the City of Cisco; and Cisco S.A.F.E., a non-profit organization whose mission is “to privately raise and provide the funds necessary to support the Cisco community.”
The idea for the park began when the Jake Morgan family began thinking about what to do with the land of the lumber yard. “They concluded that it would be appropriate to sell the property and put it in the hands of folks that would do something with it. And the family, at the time, had reached out to then-mayor Tammy Douglas, now Tammy Loran that’s our Chamber Director, and said, ‘We’d like the city to consider purchasing this property and developing it as a park area.’
The three entities began planning the park three years ago. “First and foremost, everybody thought the idea of a splash pad was a given,” Jaworski said. “Pools are expensive to build; they’re expensive to maintain. You have to staff them with lifeguards, and it’s a challenge. So the idea of doing the splash pad was – let’s do something of an aquatic nature that we can financially afford, and doesn’t present a lot of barriers for staffing and maintenance.”
It was envisioned as a place “where Mom and Dad could bring their kids, and let them cool off in a fun environment, during the hot summer months,” Jaworski said. “The central dispensary is going to be a miniaturized Cisco water tower.”
The park will also feature traditional playground equipment along with a king-of-the hill area. “This area will have slides and climbing and monkey bars. But we’ll have a unique mound of dirt that we formed intentionally next to it that has a way for kids to climb upon and play around,” he said.
The easterly side of that park will be a long rectangular area that’s shaped as a miniaturized football field. “It’s there to provide an open space for any type of open lawn-type games: playing corn hole or throwing a frisbee or playing dodgeball.”
AstroTurf will be used across all of the park space, Jaworski said. “One of the things we were looking at was long-term cost of ownership. We could spend less money up front and have a higher cost of maintenance over the life of the park, or we could have a higher cost of construction and a lower cost of maintenance over the life of the project.”
“Our leadership team agreed that spending more on the construction up front, with a lower cost of long-term maintenance was the ideal scenario. The beauty of AstroTurf is that it stays green year around, so aesthetically it’s going to be green and beautiful from January to December. “
The football area will be joined or abutted at the southerly end by an amphitheater, for presentations at outdoor events, music or one-act plays. “Picture this long football field, and you’ve got the amphitheater at one end to broadcast audio, and then it will be elevated up where you can see a little better, and if you wanted to drag a bunch of chairs, or lay down a bunch of chairs for seating, or if people just wanted to sit down on the AstroTurf, they could do so, because it would be soft, and more comfortable than just sitting on a traditional lawn.”
The last feature is a covered pavilion area. “It’s a space for any type of festival – Pie Fest is a great example – when we have folks that want to display booths outside, they can do so under the cover of shade, and have access to water and electricity.”
The park has something for everyone. “We cannot say enough good about Cisco S.A.F.E and their leadership, and countless other private donors who have contributed to this project,” Jaworski said. “If everything holds, before the year is over, we’ll have a completed project and for sure, by the time the spring of 2025 rolls around, our citizens will be able to take advantage of a completely new, multi-use, family-friendly facility where they can come and play and enjoy themselves.”
He concluded: “It is a privilege to serve a community that stands to benefit so much. The leadership of this community has worked hard to improve the quality of life here. Cisco had its hard days behind it, and its good days are now in front of it.”
By Linda Spetter