Common Council asked to pick final location for Kayla's Playground
After several weeks of research and debate, it comes down to a decision tonight by the Common Council on where the future Kayla's Krew (which will likely be changed to Kayla's Playground after a Council vote tonight) will be located. At the previous meeting, the Council directed city staff to look over park sites and options for the location of the playground, due to rising costs and concerns. Tonight, staff has come back with its options and seeks the Council's approval to pick a site and move forward.
The parks being considered for the playground are the current proposed site at Victory of the Lamb's new Church, as well as Lions Legend Park, Froemming Park, Pleasant View Park, St. Martin's Park, and Southwood Glen Park. Of those parks, Froemming Park is the only park on the top list that is also a county park.
This website has provided an opinion that the Victory of the Lamb site, while a generous donation by the Church, is not the best location for the playground due to several concerns - the primary one being the rising costs for the city's portion resulting in Franklin's park impact fees being used up solely for one project. Additionally, if the site was modified to cut costs, it would result in a playground that might not be up to par with the other sites at similar costs.
In reviewing the other park sites, Lions Legend Park is the only city park on the list that serves as a more destination-style park - being the host of a bandshell, Franklin Historical Society's original Franklin buildings, and the 4th of July Celebration. Froemming Park, due to its size and potential as a county park, is the other park geared more to be a park that serves as a destination. The other three parks mentioned are geared more as neighborhood parks - they're within subdivisions or deep inside residential areas that don't have primary roads as easily accessible or upgraded enough to handle increased traffic. It's almost without a doubt that if the Council moved Kayla's Playground to one of the neighborhood parks, there would be opposition from residents living near the park fearing the increased traffic along their residential roads.
It is the hope of this website that the Council makes the right call and chooses either Lions Legend Park or Froemming Park as the ideal location for Kayla's Playground. While Froemming Park would require some communication with Milwaukee County, that already has been happening and several sources within Milwaukee County government have informed me that they would be very supportive of having Kayla's Playground at the park.