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Show ifie 4A. Lakeside Heiew, October 9, 19H0 v- v LAYTON PARKS DEPARTMENT Supervisor Jim Woodward takes pride in his new 26-ac-re park, which was totally designed by himself and the men in his department. Park Work Ends; It's Third Largest in Utah' 26-Ac- re By NANCY LYNN KRZTON Staff Writer LAYTON After three years of work, the Layton Parks Department has finished building a park southwest of City Hall. The park, which features two small lakes, rock gardens and a wooden bridge, extends from City Hall South to Gentile Street and from Kays Creek east to Wasatch Drive. It is actually phase two of Layton Commons, which the Parks Department hopes will eventually encompass the area between 700 North, Gentile Street, Fort Lane and Kays Creek. The new section of Layton Commons lies on what was previously a swamp. To make the area suitable for recreation, workers hauled out 300 truckloads of debris and brought in more than 600 loads of topsoil, according to Parks Supervisor Jim Woodward. Most of the work was done in the winter to avoid miring heavy machinery in the summer muck. the landscape and digging After rough-gradin- g out two lakes, park employees installed plumbing, electrical wiring, a sprinkling system, and sidewalks. Next, they brought in about 400 truckloads of large rocks and finished landscaping the area. The men dumped 340 tons of sand near the Heritage Museum for a playground, put in the playground equipment, built restrooms and a bowery and graded the land again. It's kind of a unique park, Woodward said. Our people did 80 percent of the work. Only the bridge and a small dam were built by outside workers. Were really proud of this park. The land- - scaping, the layout of the sprinkling system, the all were designed sidewalks, the rock gardens by our department. Assistant Park Supervisor Dan Vincent deserves much of the credit for the design, Woodward said. e The park was built with seven park full-tim- employees, seven Comprehensive full-tim- e Employment Training Act (CETA) employees paid for by the federal government, and 10 part-tim- e summer employees. Provided important The CETA program manpower and enabled the city to build the park without hiring any additional people, Woodward stated. Additional assistance was provided by workers from the Summer Youth Employment Program for underprivileged high school students, an offshoot of CETA. The park was built with a $175,000 grant from the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and $175,000 in matching city funds. With phase one and phase two completed, Layton Commons is now the third largest park in Utah, Woodward said. The city hopes to purchase five acres to the north of city hall to make the park even larger, according to Parks and Recreation Director Richard Hunt. Meanwhile, Park Department employees will have their hands full taking care of the 136 acres already in the city park system. The Parks Department is asking Layton residents to stay out of the newest addition to Layton Commons this fall so that more vegetation can grow and the soil can become firmer. The park should be ready to use by May, Woodward said, and will look its best next fall. fewfc up?? & c 1 e - - - t Kf ' a vv r F y t4 . f x ' ; 5 . It W THIS HORSE at the park playground near the Heritage Museum will have to wait a few months to find a rider, The Layton Parks Department is asking the public to stay 1 out of the new park until the ground hardens and the ground cover thickens. O , 4 1 ,r- f .W' s - Jm& -- ' 4 f r- THIS IS ONE of two new lakes in Layton Commons added by the Parks Department to lend the area additional beauty . By VV- - next fall, it should be totally surrounded by perennial ground cover) flowers and shr-ubs- . |