Jun. 3—Three-year-old Tru Taylor climbed onto a log at the new Chestnut Grove Elementary School park on Thursday, one of three neighborhood parks built by the city in the last year.

Tru wasn’t sure for a few minutes if he was ready to go from squatting to a full stand. After assurances from his grandmother, Donna Taylor, Tru stood tall and jumped.

Tru and his new friends, Averie and Nash Brooks, spent more than an hour Thursday climbing, jumping and swinging at the new park on Battlement Road Southeast on a sunny, bright morning.

“I’m going to have a hard time getting him to leave when it’s time to go,” said Donna Taylor, and true to her word, Tru didn’t want to leave when she suggested they needed to go home for something to drink.

The two families live in this Oak Lea subdivision of Southwest Decatur.

“The park is a good addition to the neighborhood,” said Sarah Brooks, mother of Averie, 5, and Nash, 2. “It’s nice that we can walk over here from home.”

Donna Taylor said she really likes the park and her only issue is “it’s a little closer to the road that I would like,” especially after she had to stop Tru from entering the street earlier this week. She added that she would like to see the city add a fence between the park and Vicksburg Drive Southwest.

Sarah Brooks said she would like to see two additions, benches and “more playground items for children under 4.” Council President Jacob Ladner said park benches are on order and the city is waiting for their delivery.

Ladner led the effort to build the Chestnut Grove park in his District 5. According to Chief Financial Officer Kyle Demeester, state Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, obtained $180,000 from Tennessee Valley Authority in-lieu-of-tax funds and gave the funds to the Community Foundation for a Greater Decatur to pass to the city. The city added $475,000 to complete the project, he said.

Almost half of the expense went to landscaping with more than 400 plants and trees, and Ladner said this improves the area’s look. The new park also has a new parking lot.

“It was basically a dirt field so it’s a huge improvement,” Ladner said.

While the neighborhood needed a place for children to play, Ladner said he wanted the park to be slightly different. The playground also includes some rocks that allow the Chestnut Grove teachers to turn it into an outdoor classroom.

“The goal of that was not just a swing-set-and-slides type of thing, it’s more of letting kids use their imaginations, climb and swing,”

The park only uses a portion of the 4-acre field at the school’s entrance, so, Ladner said, he would like to expand the park in the future.

Ladner said both of District 5’s elementary schools, Chestnut Grove and Julian Harris, now have parks. With recent improvements to the playground, walking trail and tennis court, the Julian Harris park is much bigger and more established.

Now he said he would welcome suggested locations and possibilities for more neighborhood parks in the city, particularly in District 3.

“Residents can really help us in giving a spot that makes sense to have some type of playground or park area,” Ladner said. “The more parks we can have, it’s definitely better.”

Councilman Carlton McMasters pushed for new neighborhood parks in District 3. Demeester said the city received three $50,000 grants from the state for these parks.

The city added $155,000 to the grant fund to build a park next to Fire Station No. 8 off Indian Hills Road in Southeast Decatur last fall. Frances Nungester Elementary School, located off Tammie Street Southwest, got $210,000 plus one of the $50,000 grants for a park this spring.

The city is also working on plans for another District 3 park off Linett Street Southwest and near Central Avenue. The city allocated $135,000 to go along with the grant for this park.

Mayor Tab Bowling said Aaron Lang, Parks & Recreation operations manager, is working with Pugh Wright McAnally Inc. engineering firm on confirming property lines and planning for this park.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432