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Vlle Platte moving forward with plans to upgrade city parks

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Children in Ville Platte will soon have more areas to play. The city is upgrading its parks, and those upgrades will have something for all ages. 

The Martin Luther King Center in Hargrove Park has become a place for fun, games and healthy food for people over 60-years-old, but don’t call theses competitive bingo players old. 

"I am 83-years-old…young. Sweet 83! We are really enjoying ourselves because we play bingo, and we win prizes," exclaimed Missouri Joubert.  

"I love it because I like to talk, and I’m alone at my house, so I like to come here and have fun," said Isabella Adams.

On the outside, the city plans on bringing more playground equipment and even a splash pad for the younger generations. 

"There’s a lot of children of all ages that come to the park, and they all need different activities. When I was younger, then they didn’t have no playgrounds like that," explained Joubert. 

Construction is underway to build pavilions in the park. 

Mayor Jennifer Vidrine says the upgrades are being funded by the city’s budget, and she’s working on applying for grants. 

"You’re looking at an excess of $100,000 for this, but it’s an investment in our community; it’s an investment for our people because it’s something our people can see; it’s something they can utilize," said Vidrine.

When asked about the upgrades, 7-year-old Zoe Wilson said, "I’m going to be really happy." 

The mayor responded, "This is why we do it, all for the cher babies: the big ones and the small ones."

"It’s very important because, you know, if we have a park and nobody comes to it, it doesn’t pay for us to have a park. But, I enjoy everything about this place, and I come as often as I can," said Adams. 

Hargrove Park won’t be the only area with upgrades. Work is being done to bring improvements to the city’s Gloria Frank Hope Park and also the Recreational Park. Those improvements should be done within the next year.