September 15, 2024

Creston parks to remain closed, for now

By TYLER HETU

Rainbow Park continues to improve with the support of Creston's Southside Boosters, Mommies of Angels and Old Tyme Power, each of which have sponsored fundraisers for improvements to the park located between South Birch and South Vine streets and East Monroe and East Fremont streets. Members of Creston Parks and Rec Board hope to open recreational areas such as Rainbow Park after extended closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite having one of the highest growing rates for COVID-19 cases, Iowa is opening up its doors again after Gov. Kim Reynolds’ press conference Monday.

Reynolds announced Monday that she would allow restaurants, fitness centers and malls to begin reopening Friday in 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties, with businesses locally ultimately deciding if they’d like to open doors to 50% capacity while still following social distancing rules.

With non-essential businesses opening, parks and recreational areas could be next on the list of cleared gatherings Reynolds will lift restrictions on. Local parks in the town of Creston will not be jumping the gun and will remain closed like all public parks in Iowa have been for the last several weeks, off original orders from Reynolds.

It’s going to remain that way, no matter how well the first openings of non-essential businesses go, until given the A-OK said Creston Parks and Recreation Board chairman John Kawa.

“The parks are still closed from her order,” said Kawa. “Nothing at the park is open right now. The swimming pool is not open, nothing is open. ... We can open when we can, but that is up to her (Reynolds). We’re just in limbo. ... It’s up to her.”

Kawa added that the town would love to open the park back up to the public, and have been preparing to open the pool up in the meantime. In the event the park does open, there are concerns in relation to sanitation of the park on a day-to-day basis.

“If we have to sanitize all the equipment daily, we don’t have the equipment to do that,” said Kawa. “Our sanitation was to clean them, but as far as the sanitation stuff that they’re talking about, we don’t have that equipment. ... We don’t have the manpower to do what they want us to do, with sanitizing everything like you see (on TV). We don’t have anybody to do that.”

A meeting for the Park and Rec Board next week will include discussions for an opening date goal, sanitation concerns and other topics involving the park – including the concert at McKinley Park.

“We’d love to get the (parks) again. People want to get out,” said Kawa. “If the local businesses can go back to normal, the park will open. There’s no doubt about that.”