Park renovations irk neighbors

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The City of Albuquerque recently spent half a million dollars renovating a pocket park in the Northeast Heights, which you might think would please area residents.

You’d be wrong.

"It was such a waste of money," said neighbor Les McDaniel.

McDaniel said the park – originally built in 1979 – did not need the expensive improvements.

"I don't see the value of what they spent,” he said. “I mean if they have spend a half million dollars, it's such a waste. I could have done it for $5,000.”

Ed Leslie Park is located on Montgomery Street just west of Louisiana Boulevard. David Flores, the city’s parks and recreation project coordinator, said the park was in desperate need of updating, including a sprinkler system that frequently watered sidewalks and streets instead of grass and trees.

In fact, the city’s water department issued about $20,000 worth of fines for wasted water at the park – more than any other park in Albuquerque.

Construction started the first week of April and didn’t finish until about a week ago, Flores said. Crews planted new trees and grass, installed new playground equipment and re-built the sprinkler system. Voter-approved bonds paid the half million dollars for the renovations.

Neighbor Jill Ybarra said she saw city workers bulldozing trees during construction.

"I came out running stop, stop to the bulldozers,” she said. “What are you doing?"

Ybarra said she was less concerned about the renovation price tag than she was about the much-delayed opening of the park.

"So July, September, October or early November, November 30th, and now it's been stated that the grand opening will happen at the end of the year," Ybarra said.

Flores said there are several reasons for the delays, including the fact that crews had to hand dig out the old grass to replant sod and grass seed.

"Something of this intensity we didn't really anticipate the scale and anticipate the extent of the difficulty of the work," Flores said.

Also, crews had to stop working on the park at one point because other city took priority, he said.

"So that was unanticipated, so we pulled completely out," he said.

Construction at the park is now finished, and the barricades are scheduled come down Friday, Flores said.

"(A) Christmas present to the neighborhood," he said.