City of Grand Junction Hosts Public Meeting for Input on Potential Improvements to Hawthorne Park

The City of Grand Junction will host a public meeting on Thursday, May 30 at 5:30 p.m. in the shelter at Hawthorne Park 400 Gunnison Ave. to gather public input on improvements to the park as one of the priorities noted in the city's Parks and Recreation Open Space Plan.

In addition to the public meeting, community members are invited to engage by completing the survey found at EngageGJ.org. This survey asks the community to provide insights as to what types of improvements are most important. The survey will be open until the end of the day on Thursday, May 23, 2024. The survey will also appear in the May 2024 GJ Parks and Recreation e-newsletter and paper copies will be available at the meeting on May 30.

Following the decision by City Council on April 19 regarding the proposed design contract to add a bike pump track to a portion of Hawthorne Park, staff has been working on a revised plan. The agenda for the meeting was revised to gather input on community ideas for use of the park and needed improvements such as potentially replacing the playground.

The results of input gathered through the public process will be referenced in order to develop staff recommendations which will be presented to City Council for consideration as next steps in the process to update Hawthorne and better meet the needs of the neighborhood and the community overall.

There is $340,000 budgeted for Hawthorne Park Improvements in the 2024 Grand Junction City Council approved budget. As stated in the 2024 budget book: "Hawthorne Park is another older park facility in need of renovation to facilitate activity in this relatively small space close to downtown. Funds in 2024 are planned to bring in modern amenities to Hawthorne Park." Funding sources to improve Hawthorne Park include $200,000 in Conservation Trust Funds and $140,000 from the .75% Sales Tax Fund.

The public process to gather input is planned to extend into June and staff expects any funding for Hawthorne improvements to be considered as a part of the 2025 budget process.