Music concerts, outdoor movies and other attractions could some day join the farmers market at Franklin Park in downtown Shawano.
Proposals for the future development of Franklin Park and Spirit of Shawano Park, located on the northeast and southeast corners of Green Bay and Main streets, were presented to the public Wednesday at an informational meeting at City Hall.
The planning is still in the draft stage as the city seeks further input.
“Your thoughts are the most important piece of this,” Park and Recreation Director Matt Hendricks told the crowd of more than 30 people who attended the meeting.
The city and consulting firm Rettler Corp., of Stevens Point, will continue soliciting community feedback until a finalized plan goes before the Park and Recreation Commission, possibly in October, and then to the Common Council.
John Kneer, landscape architect with Rettler Corp., presented three variations on a concept plan for Franklin Park that included such possible amenities as an interactive water fountain, multi-purpose stage area, playground, veterans memorial and a promenade along which farmers market vendors could be located.
“These are concepts. None of these are set in stone,” he said.
Residents seemed to like most of those ideas and offered a few more of their own, including a botanical garden, an area for local artists to display their works and an ice skating rink.
Finding some way to link the 3-acre park with Main Street, just a block away, was also discussed.
Proposals for Spirit of Shawano Park, meanwhile, focused on opening up the quarter-acre site and making it more noticeable for travelers passing through the city’s busiest intersection.
The enhancements could include an archway crossing above Green Bay Street welcoming motorists to Shawano.
Other ideas included additional native landscaping, background fencing to highlight the existing sculptures at the site, and a shallow creek that could run through it.
“It would be someplace to come to if you work downtown, live around there,” Kneer said. “A destination place in downtown Shawano and a place for the drive-through traffic to really appreciate where they are.”
Kneer said after the meeting he is enjoying the challenge of redesigning the Spirit of Shawano Park.
“It’s a small space, so detail is much more important at that scale,” he said. “It’s quite a fun exercise.”
Kneer said he felt Wednesday’s public input session was successful.
“We wanted to provide a variety of options here to have reaction to,” he said.
Hendricks said he was impressed with the turnout.
“There were a lot of positive comments, good feedback,” he said. “People obviously care about the community and are thinking about what they want to see in there.”
Hendricks and Kneer will be at the Shawano Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 6 to take further input.
People can also contact Hendricks at 715-526-6171 or mhendricks@shawanonet.net, or comment on the Park and Recreation Department’s Facebook page.
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