Parks system an asset to Newton

On Monday, the Newton City Council approved some fee hikes for the Newton parks system, including a $2 increase for the cost to play 18 holes of golf at the city-owned Westwood Golf Course and higher fees for renting park shelters.

Such are the costs for maintaining a city parks system that is as good as any in Iowa for a community of this size.

Nobody likes to see fee increases, especially in these tough economic times. However, we have no problem with small increases as long as it means we can keep our parks system a vibrant asset to the community.

And as it stands right now, Newton’s park system is excellent. Headlined by Maytag Park and Pool, Newton offers well-maintained, attractive parks throughout the city. Virtually everyone in town lives within short walking distance to a park, all of which are well-maintained and add to our quality of life.

Last year when the budget was lean and layoffs of city employees seemed imminent, some people wondered why we would continue to mow the grass in our parks when cutting back on that service or eliminating it entirely could save jobs in the public works or public safety departments.

Why spend money for a non-essential service like grass cutting?

The reality is that the city needs to maintain the parks system or they would quickly go from an asset to an eyesore.

Attractive, convenient parks help attract people to a community, while having a parks system that appears run down and poorly kept could actually be a detriment to attracting new residents who may reason “if the parks system looks like this, what else is the city letting go?”

So if some small fee hikes are necessary to keep our parks system strong, we’ll toss an extra dollar or two in the hat. Afterall, our green space is worth it.