Bumblebee Park repairs underway

Repairs to out-of-service utilities at Bumblebee Park drew easy support from council members hoping a $17,000 repair bill will simultaneously increase usage and safety at the public space on Coach Cooksey Street.
“We’ve had an issue out there with some electrical repair,” Mayor Scott Owens noted. Meanwhile, “We have had, from time to time, some vandalism in that park.”
Gladewater Police Department patrols monitor the area, he added, but “We don’t have lights there so they can see throughout the park.”
Despite the lapse in the utilities, church groups and organizations, in addition to families, are using the amenity for ‘movies in the park’ events and other activities, and they’re having to bring in their own equipment to make it happen.
“We need to update those lights and get this (electrical) back in repair,” Owen said. “I think we need to get this done and get it done right away.”
A planned weekend function required a generator, City Manager Charlie Smith said, since there was no reliable power.
“We’ve been out there several times and had to use generators,” echoed Place 4 Councilman Teddy Sorrells, senior pastor of Living Water Church.
“We’ve got money in the budget for this project,” agreed Council Member Rocky Hawkins, Place 6.
Mayor Pro Tem’s Sonny Anderson’s motion for $16,700 to cover the repairs was unanimously approved by the council members in attendance.
“That is contingent on everything in there being (in good shape) and not having to pull new wires or anything like that,” Smith concluded, adding later: “We just want to go in there and get that thing fixed up so they can utilize that park like it should be used.”