Plans to refurbish Anna Becker Park in Belen in the works

BELEN—While there’s no funding in place at the moment, Belen leaders are making plans on refurbishing one of the city’s most used and appreciated parks in the Hub City.

Gregory Coon, the city’s parks and recreation director, presented to the city council last week two schematic renderings of what Anna Becker Park could look like — one with a designated parking lot and another without.

“I’m excited to show the two different options,” Coon said. “This is an opportunity to create a vision for the future. What this allows us to do is give us a direction to go after grant funding and legislative funding.”

Coon reminded the council he held two different public forums to discuss the park located off Reinken Avenue. He said they had a lot of public input and with their suggestions and others from the council, they have a starting point.

“Anna Becker is a beloved park for Belen — it’s sorta like a mini Central Park,” Coon said. “Its a true hub of the community.”

Both options, Coon said, have the same features, including shade structures, a dog park, multi-sport court, areas for markets and picnics, a playground, horseshoe pit, benches and a portable restroom enclosure.

Currently, parking is available on three sides of the park — east, west and north. The second option includes 13 additional parking spaces in a lot on the north end of the park.

According to the cost estimates provided by Coon, the first option without the parking lot could cost about $3.7 million, while the second option with a parking lot would be $3.9 million — a $200,000 difference.

“It would increase the parking load, the amount of vendor stalls where food trucks can park and where others can set up at Art in the Park and the Farmers Market,” Coon said of the second option. “It creates a vendor alley and increases the amount of parking.”

Coon explained if the council decided to increase the amount of parking at Anna Becker Park, it would move the sports court away from the gazebo and would increase the amount of space for the picnic area.

Currently, the city is working on the irrigation system at the park, which will cost more than $350,000 to complete. He also said they’ve been cutting down half of the trees at Anna Becker Park.

“It’s still a bit of a shock (seeing the park with fewer trees),” Coon said. “We had to remove about 50 percent of the trees. You’re going to see crews out there for the next couple of weeks pruning, reducing weight from limbs.

“Many of the trees were rotting out because of age,” he explained. “The ones that were unhealthy were removed.”

Coon did say they are planning on planting additional elms at the park to replace those that have been taken down.

“We’re looking at a hybrid rather than the Chinese elm,” he said. “It’s a little more (climate) tolerant and less likely to spread seeds.”

Belen Mayor Robert Noblin said he was pleased with the public participation in the public meetings, saying they are very concerned about the park and the trees.

“The trees were very visible,” Noblin said. “They were becoming a safety concern; they were dropping limbs.

“I appreciate the input the community gave on this. Now we need to make a decision on what option we want. Maybe we can poll the community on the two different options.”

The mayor also asked Coon if the design had a drinking fountain in place at the park.

“I usually stay away from them,” the parks director said. “It’s a constant maintenance issue, and most people nowadays bring their own water.”

Coon also said they will be replacing the current gazebo with a larger, more functional gazebo that would meet ADA standards.

“I know it’s a very prized feature at the park, and we’re not going to take it down until we have to,” he said. “It’s also a maintenance concern, and we’re trying our best until we have to take it down and put up something else.”