The Newton Park Board meeting of Oct. 20, as reported in the Newton Daily News, included various ideas for the use of the Maytag Park house which includes the park office. Of those considered, the idea of maintaining the historic integrity of the Maytag Park home and using the parks office as presented by board member Amanda Price, is both sensible and economical.
While serving on the Maytag Bowl repair committee, I had the park house inspected for its condition. It passed with no restrictions or required corrections. Its current inspection also had no required corrections. Amanda Price’s statement, “I think because of the history of this building, the history of the park itself and that it’s in the park, I’d be all for it being the park office. It would be nice to have a presence in the park” is a very wise analysis.
The previous park survey indicated citizens wanted an on-site authority and office in Maytag Park for increased safety, information and assistance if needed.
The Newton golf course pro is required to live in the apartment at the golf course to be present for citizen assistance and deter vandalism. Maytag Park should offer the same service. Linda Dalton, President of Project AWAKE stated “It speaks well of Newton that we do have a presence at the Arboretum. It’s really convenient to have that office there, and it’s great to have somebody available for visitors.” The same perspective should apply to Maytag Park.
The Maytag Park house is on the Historic list that qualifies it for preservation grants for needed repair or upgrading. This house should be utilized to provide park users the same benefits that the arboretum and golf course enjoy.
Mr. Laube’s estimates for city cost for improvements on the Maytag Park house cannot be viewed as accurate if the value of the preservation grants to historic properties have been omitted.
Mr. Unsworth could save Newton money, reduce vandalism and assist park users by operating from the Maytag Park House instead of renting space elsewhere.
Joyce Moen
Newton