Woodmen Hills gaining on parks and recreation improvements

The Woodmen Hills Parks and Recreation Department is creating a master plan to outline steps to improve, expand or modify existing trails, parks and open space. The department hosted a second open house in March to seek input from Woodmen Hills residents.To assist with funding for the master plan, the department applied for a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado. “We applied for this grant twice in the past and got turned down, but I’m excited that we got it this time,” said Eddie Avedikian, parks and recreation director. The remainder of the funds will come from the Conservation Trust Fund of the Colorado Lottery. The grants together total $50,000.Ideas for improvements included the following:

• improving existing trails and parks
• creating a dog park
• extending the recreation center east building to accommodate a gym, a skateboard park, tennis courts, multipurpose fields and courts
• renovating the recreation center west swimming pool to allow for a splash park

Avedikian said the trails system and the weight room in the recreation center west are the most heavily used amenities, and residents seemed most interested in improving them.An urban design firm from Colorado Springs, Thomas and Thomas, will design the project once the residents’ input has been completely reviewed from the open houses and an online survey.”We’re moving along really well,” Avedikian said. “We’re about 70 percent done as far as getting the information and input down on paper.”He said teaming up with an urban design company like Thomas and Thomas is beneficial. “It’s a great opportunity for us to get funding in the future because we have a plan and a partner,” Avedikian said.