Gurdon Mayor Sherry Kelley wrote and received a grant for $45,000 to build a new park at City Hall. The park will consist of a basketball half-court, a playground and a pavilion. Kelley said that by building the park, she wants to foster a greater connection between the residents of Gurdon and their local government.
As the city’s first female mayor, Kelley said she takes pride in influencing the young townsfolk in Gurdon.
“I do want the people to bring their children and feel free to visit with us in City Hall in our offices, certainly visit with me in my office,” Kelley said. “And I’ll go out, if there are people out there utilizing the park, and say ‘Hi.’
“You know I’m the first female mayor. Not that that’s a big deal, but sometimes I’ll see little girls, and I’ll see in their eyes a little twinkle. And I’d like to help foster that spirit of imagination and confidence for those little boys and girls to know that they should have dreams.”
The playground is set to be handicapped-accessible, although Kelley is not sure she can get equipment that can accommodate children with all disabilities.
“My little sister is handicapped; she’s never been able to walk,” Kelley said. “When she was little, she’d see other kids playing on the playground equipment, and she’d say,
‘Mommy, how come I can’t do that?’”
Making sure the playground is accessible is a priority for Kelley, even if some of the equipment may not be inclusive. A greater sense of community is the ultimate goal of the park, she said.
One way that Kelley said the park could create stronger relationships between residents and government is through special signage that shows police officers and children holding hands, to signify that the park is a safe place.
The city already has a great connection to the community, Kelley said, but she thinks that is the result of involvement in the community.
“Recently, I had my windows down in my car. Everybody kinda recognizes my Town Car — I’ve got an old hooptie that I drive around in. These little girls leaned out the window, and they all yelled, ‘Hi!’ That was so nice. I couldn’t call them by name, but maybe I had been at their church or something. It’s good to see that.”
The money for the grant is 100-percent funded, meaning there is no matching required from the city government.
Kelley recently wrote and received another 100-percent funded grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for rural development and used that grant to turn a dilapidated
building on Main Street into an event center that costs $15 per hour to rent. She said it was important to keep the cost low to allow the center to be accessed by all residents.
So it seems that Gurdon is placing focus on community as a general trend. A couple of businesses have expanded into Gurdon recently: an Exxon Tiger Mart and an AllCare Pharmacy. And the $1.3 billion Shandong Sun Paper mill is expected to begin construction soon in Arkadelphia after filing for permits earlier this year, according to news reports.
Growth in the region is encouraging, and Kelley said she hopes to keep her community connected with the new park.
“It’ll be good for community relations. We’ll get more familiar with the kids and parents and grandparents,” Kelley said, “and they’ll get more familiar with us.”