Town Talk Church Point
Town Talk Church Point
Elevating the Heart of Church Point: Central Park's New Era with Mayor Spanky
Join Mayor Spanky and me, Chris Logan, for an energizing look into the blossoming landscape of Central Park in Church Point. As the heartbeat of our community, the park is buzzing with attractions and we're excited to share the roadmap for its dynamic evolution. From the laughter of children at the soon-to-be-open splash pad to the competitive clinks on the pickleball courts, we're painting a picture of how this beloved green space is morphing into a sanctuary for fun, fitness, and fellowship. And yes, you heard that right – due to popular demand, we're rolling out a second pickleball court!
Throughout our chat, Mayor Spanky unveils his grand vision for the interconnectedness of the town's cultural and recreational offerings. We celebrate the success of our skate park, an everyday haven for the youth and the young-at-heart, which has unexpectedly turned into a magnet drawing visitors from afar, boosting our local economy. We dig into the details of our vibrant dog park, the first of its kind in Acadia Parish, and explore how each new feature, like the strategically placed buggy building, adds to the charm and character of Church Point. So, if you're curious about what it takes to transform a town park into a thriving community cornerstone, tune in for this episode brimming with enthusiasm and hometown pride.
Welcome to another episode of the Town Talk podcast. It is Chris and Mayor Spanky. We're doing it up again and this is another episode about what's happening and what's going on in town and what's going on at Central Park, because it's I'll call it almost the end of spring, I guess, but, dude, the weather's been so crazy, it's been cool, but nonetheless, summertime is not that far away and the park there it's already busy, oh yeah. But with the addition of the splash pad it's going to be even busier, oh yeah. So that's what we're going to talk about today.
Speaker 1:You know all what's coming in your whole Central Park vision and that whole connection between you know where the museum's at the green area and the little walking pad coming across the street by the depot, then the area where the playland is, the skate park, is the pickleball court, that whole area is your big vision for Central Park in town. And people may think, oh, dude, we got this, got this, we got that, but we have more stuff coming. And you know your vision is to always just kind of move forward in the in the town of church point. So we'll start with what we already have and obviously in that area we have the dog park? Yeah, and we were the first in a katie parish to have one. The other day I passed by and there were some people playing in there with their dogs.
Speaker 1:And I'm like you know it's great and you and I joke a little bit about it that you think, oh man, what about a dog park? But people with dogs like to take their dog to the dog park. If you don't have a dog then you may not understand it, but if you do have a dog then you're probably excited that we offer that in town. Now the buggy building is there with the old buggy in there, and that was done in coordination with Church Point Community Development.
Speaker 2:We have the play area.
Speaker 1:That's there too, and that's been there for a little while. Again, some of that was helped by Church Point Community Development. Then let's see, next on the list, the dog park at the play area, the buggy building and then the pickleball pickleball court yep. So pickleball court came and man that exploded. I think you have to take a number to get on the pickleball court.
Speaker 2:Right, it went from. And I'm going to be honest with you on that one. I was watching a show called renovation island and it was. They were building something on the bahamas and they built one. I'd never heard about it. So I started researching. I was like, well, that don't take a lot of room and I think people might like it. So we started building it and man, I was like all of a sudden there was pickleballers everywhere and we hadn't even built it yet or finished, and we were needing a second one by the time we opened the first one. Yeah, it was crazy, and I mean, skate park was the same way, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's people there every day. And look at first, when I started this idea, boy, a lot of the people that don't understand skating were not for it. You know, they were thinking all kind of things that I don't understand, but that's okay. Right, they were thinking all kind of things that I don't understand, but that's okay. But when we opened it, everyone was like, wow, this is being used quite a bit. And it is. It is. Yeah, I mean, there's people from out of town coming to Churchport that never would have come to town, never would have visited our town other than and the pickleball court, same way, I mean without those two.
Speaker 2:I mean there's people that we don't know and that's good, you know. They come and see our town, they come and eat at our restaurants, they come and fill up their gas. I mean that's what it's about.
Speaker 1:So we'll come back to the second pickleball court that's coming. I kind of wanted to go in line. But also the splash pad. There's the addition of the splash pad, and that's something and everybody has their opinion, obviously. I mean, we know that and you would do one thing here or do something there. Well, what about a splash pad for the small kids or whatever it is? And then that happened, and that happened by a private donation and we can say that, right, I mean obviously, obviously I guess more information will will come out about that but the whole thing was paid for by one person, was paid for by one person, which is great I mean that's unbelievable when you told me that I'm like wait a minute you should imagine how I feel like hey, hang on.
Speaker 1:but so the splash pad is there now, which I think is going to be great when the weather warms up. So the splash pad will have an opening for that on April 30th. Yes, that's when the splash pad will officially open.
Speaker 2:We're going to have a ribbon cutting on April 30th. It should be interesting. Because, we're going to, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I try to make them not a boring, you know just a cut and run, I'm sure something exciting is going to happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm pretty sure and I can almost guarantee it, but that's going to happen on the 30th and then that will open it up, okay. And it will officially be open after what they normally do is, you know, open in early may and close right around labor day somewhere in that area and then that's just, we turn it off and all that stuff how?
Speaker 1:how does it work, mayor? Uh, obviously I don't. I don't have any small kids anymore, but I know there's other towns and places around here that have them. Do you have to hit a certain button to turn the water on? How does it work?
Speaker 2:there's a button that's on a pole and when you have to hit a certain button to turn the water on. How does it work? There's a button that's on a pole and when you want to go there you press the button and it throws water. I think it's three to five minutes, okay. Then when it turns off, you press it again until you're finished. So that way, whenever it does, you know you leave. It's not stuck on, because to ask people to turn things off is right is a job in itself.
Speaker 2:So what it does is it times itself out, and that's all it does. Is, when you press that button, everything comes on yeah, and then it'll time out and shut off.
Speaker 1:You know so that's, that's a great addition to the town. Man, that's, that's huge.
Speaker 2:You gotta remember that's the first one in Acadia.
Speaker 1:Parish too. Yeah, Skatepark first in Acadia Parish.
Speaker 2:You know like.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of things happening we trailblaze this and it's funny you say that because I'll see other smaller towns around the area and it's not a dig at them, but a lot of smaller towns over the past couple years or so. They're adding little park areas, they're adding little play lands. They couple years or so.
Speaker 2:They're adding little park areas, they're adding little little play lands, they're updating things and I'm like, wow, we were trailblazing with all what was happening here in town and the thing of it is is if you go to any, like we go to meetings to discuss the new trends, the new this, the new that and everything.
Speaker 2:right now, when you go into these community, things is walkability Like that is hot right now. That's what Youngsville is all about walkability. That way you can be at your house and you can go walk to whatever and do whatever, and that's kind of what the Central Park theme was. We were just a little bit before that trend actually landed Became a thing, yeah.
Speaker 2:But that was the whole plan, and the get-go is the center of town so everybody can come enjoy it. If there's a music festival, everybody can walk there, they can walk back. I think it's a good thing and it's been very successful. I mean the amount of people that are going every afternoon it's a lot. It's great, it's a lot.
Speaker 1:And that's going to bring us to our latest, and that is the addition of another pickleball court. Yes, and groundbreaking on that will happen on April 10th, april 10th, and so that's going to be, I guess, maybe adjacent to the one. Now, what's the?
Speaker 2:street on the— it's going to be right by the other one. It's on Thibodeau Street. Thibodeau Street okay. But to say that I know the design, I do not sure yet. I have the pickleball guy that builds them, builds that in tennis courts, all all over the place. We've gotten a price from him. He's come look at it. He has a plan, but he knows his job. I mean, he's the best of the best around Louisiana for that and he's going to recommend where to put it, how to put it and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the best place.
Speaker 2:It's not a—and I mean there's rumors. Right now I don't know where they're coming from, but you know it's like—and being honest, I don't know. Yeah, and when you say you don't know, people just make it up, Right, yeah?
Speaker 1:It's how it works, but, dude, the summertime will really be happening in church. Point oh yeah, between the splash pad and the skate park and the all the playland with the toys and the dog park, and then the new pickleball court, the current pickleball court. There's going to be a lot happening in town. One thing real quick. This is something that I think everyone in town needs to be aware of now there is a crosswalk yes you want to explain maybe why that was put in what's and what's the deal with it.
Speaker 2:It's got a high concentration of of kids walking from the park to the. You know the whole park area, you know. So we just want to make sure that they stay safe, so we put two of them across. There's a blinking yellow light at night. That's to caution. Okay. If a person is approaching the crosswalk, you must stop. If there's nobody in the area about the cross, you do not have to stop. It's a yield yellow, okay. But if there's a person approaching the crosswalk to cross, you have to stop and let them.
Speaker 2:And let them go exactly and that you will get a ticket if you don't stop and that person's entering the crosswalk and that's nothing new you see that all over the place it's not trying to write tickets.
Speaker 1:No, it's not I, that's. The pedestrian has to ride away at these crosswalks.
Speaker 2:I've had many people ask me like do I have to stop when nobody's there? No, it's just like any other crosswalk anywhere when a person's entering it, you have to stop, it's just as simple as that, but the light does make people think like maybe I should have to stop every time Kind of gets you attention.
Speaker 1:No, you don't.
Speaker 2:And we put reflectors on it. The thing about it is I've learned in a lot of classes and different trainings and stuff like that that speed bumps don't necessarily work as good as people think they do, but visual does. So if you ever go there at night, you're going to see blinking yellow lights and you're going to see a reflector every foot and a half. I mean you can't miss it.
Speaker 1:I mean it's very noticeable, you can't miss it.
Speaker 2:And when the human brain sees all that, the natural thing is to caution, because there's so much going on. You know what I'm saying? What do I do? Yeah, caution, because it's so much going on.
Speaker 1:You know what?
Speaker 2:I'm saying what, what do I do? Yeah, because that's what they do. I think overseas is they cross or cross, or cross and it it goes down in the speed. Okay so again a quick reminder april 10th yep, the groundbreaking yep that'll happen for the new pickleball court, and then april 30th will be the grand opening of the splash pad.
Speaker 1:That's right. And then the splash pad will be open for the new pickleball court. And then April 30th will be the grand opening of the Splash Pad. That's right.
Speaker 2:And then the Splash Pad will be open for the summer following that and there'll be more details on the Facebook and on our website before those events.
Speaker 1:Very exciting, Mayor Another great episode and a lot happening in town. So thanks on behalf of everybody for spending some time on Town Talk.
Speaker 2:Thank you, y'all have a great one.