Crystal City leaders recently rolled up their sleeves to bring the Darrell “Hickey” White Park rebuild one step closer to completion.
Mayor Mike Osher, City Administrator Jason Eisenbeis, Public Works director Dan Turner, street foreman Curtis Binsbacher and Crystal City High School Principal Eric Pouvaranukoah recently took time out of their busy schedules to build the park restrooms.
Eisenbeis said the city decided to tackle the project themselves instead of hiring a company to complete it in order to save the city money.
“Everything we do here is on a shoestring budget,” he said.
Eisenbeis said Turner took charge of the project, found building plans and purchased about $4,800 worth of materials.
Turner said completing the project themselves saved the city at least $10,000.
He said the project is slowly moving forward, adding that the volunteers spent at least 20 hours working on the restrooms and likely need at least three to four more days of labor to finish the restrooms and put up the park’s new pavilion.
“We probably have another 20 to 30 hours left cleaning everything up and getting it operational,” Turner added.
The new park already includes two collegiate-sized, asphalt basketball courts, concrete sidewalks, a new asphalt parking lot and lighting.
All the volunteers have experience in the construction field, Eisenbeis said, adding that it is not the first time city workers completed construction projects, and it likely will not be the last.
“We’re a small city, and when we pull together to get things done as a team, we can build anything here,” he said. “We have a lot of talented employees here, and why not take advantage of that and use their skill set to our advantage?”
Eisenbeis said Friedmeyer Construction and Friedmeyer Electric Inc. also have donated time on the park project.
“A lot of volunteers made it all come together,” Eisenbeis said. “It started out as a fun project. Now we’re taking a lot of pride in it and giving back to the community. It’s just a bathroom, but now it’s a source of pride for all of us.
“At the end of the day, it comes back to the community. It’s about our town, and we’re all a part of that,” Eisenbeis said. “Mike (Osher) says it all the time – there’s something special about Crystal. I think about it all the time. When you get over here, it’s just a feeling that’s different. A lot of people go above and beyond here to make things work.”
Turner agreed.
“For a lot of us, it’s our home. We live here, we were born and raised and went to school here,” he said. “If we can have a direct and positive impact on the community, we’re going to do it.”
The new Darrell “Hickey” White Park replaces the original park on Crystal Avenue that closed in 2014 after it had fallen into disrepair. The park board decided to stop maintaining it because its restroom building was not compliant with federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards and because the property often flooded. The new restrooms comply with ADA standards.
The park was named after a Crystal City High School basketball player, Darrell “Hickey” White, who died in 1977 of a blood disorder at age 18, shortly before graduation.
The new park is being built on 2.22 acres along Little League Drive south of the Twin City Little League ballfields in Ward 1. The Twin City Levee Commission owns the property, which is on the south side of town, and has given the city permission to use it for the park.
City officials plan to mark completion of the park with a rededication ceremony scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5. The event will include free food, free Kona Ice, giveaways, prizes, raffles, games and more, as well as a small ceremony with the White family.
The ceremony will be held in conjunction with National Night Out, an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and helps people get to know their neighbors to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. The event is free and open to the public.
In previous years, National Night Out took place at Charlie Brown Park, but Osher said he believes the event is a great opportunity to introduce the community to the city’s newest park and get feedback about what other amenities residents would like to see added to the park in the future.
“It’s come together nicely. It’s been a long time coming. We want to showcase this park and get the community out and make them aware of this park. Unfortunately, it’s going to take years to build this park out,” he said. “We have different ideas for playgrounds, exercise equipment, walking loops and things of that nature. We’re really proud of the small progress we’ve made. It’s kind of a blank slate. We want the community to come out and utilize it. We’re open to ideas. The park is for the people, so we don’t want to stick something in there that’s not going to be used. If the people want something, we’ll work towards that goal.”
Turner said the 2025 Twin City Days three-on-three basketball tournament to be held in September will take place at the new basketball courts at the park.