This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Cottonwood Heights • The hill where John Robinson put on his first pair of skis still stands. The building where he attended Mountview Elementary School around 40 years ago does not.
The school building, 1651 E. Fort Union Blvd., which had been sitting empty for several years, was demolished earlier this spring. The city of Cottonwood Heights hopes that by next spring the property's transformation into Mountview Park will be complete.
The city plans to revitalize the 12-acre lot by adding tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, multi-use playfields, a splash pad, picnic shelters, parking and restrooms, among several other features.
A pedestrian pathway will ring the park. Robinson's memorable sledding hill is also included in the park's final concept plan, which was released earlier this summer.
"We've really tried to involve comments from the public," said Stephanie Archibald, public relations officer for Cottonwood Heights, on Mountview Park's final concept plan. "We want this to be a park tailored to fit the needs of the community."
An open house in April allowed residents to give feedback on features they wanted in the new park. Comments were also accepted via email throughout the spring. People who came to the open house were asked to fill out cards with their comments about the two park options presented. One of the most popular suggestions was for an off-leash dog area, which was never included in the city's concept plan due to space limitations.
"We [the city] want a dog park, too," said Archibald. "But we're having a hard time finding space in Cottonwood Heights to make it happen. Mountview Park is too small for the size of park that dogs need."
Brian Berndt, the city's planning director, said the city is looking elsewhere for an off-leash dog area.
"Taking away an [off-leash] dog area is detrimental," said Robinson. "People are always bringing dogs to the area to play Frisbee … there's no place close that you can have a dog off-leash, or at least not that I know of."
While the park is still in the early stages of pre-construction, Robinson is taking advantage of the open space by bringing Nia, his 4-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, to play there.
Half of the property is still covered in grassy fields that are being used by summer recreation leagues. Berndt said the city's goal is to start construction by the last week of August, which will allow the leagues to finish their summer seasons. Once construction begins, it should take only three to four weeks.
Gilson Engineering surveyors were at the site last week. Results of the surveys will be used to assess how to grade and prepare the site.
There is still a lot of work to be done, including the choice of a contractor and lining up financing. The park has an estimated cost of $2.4 million, which the city plans to pay for with its open space fund.
Robinson is happy the property will still be a place where kids go to have fun. "It's cool to see kids out playing on the soccer fields. Then there's always kids tubing down the hill in the winter … definitely don't get rid of that hill."