Inside City Hall: Do our city parks hibernate?

A lot of you might be asking yourself, “What does the Park Department do in the winter time?” While we may not be as busy as we are the rest of the year, we still have plenty to do.  

Let’s just start with everyone’s favorite four-letter word, SNOW! When it snows in Brandon we are responsible for plowing off all of the bike paths and major sidewalks throughout town. It might not seem like much, but as you all know, once the big plow trucks go through where does the snow get pushed? Right onto the sidewalks! Most of the time we are plowing just as much snow as the big trucks with much smaller equipment.

As much as we dislike snow it is good for one thing, sledding! McHardy Park has a nice sized lighted hill that is great for sledding. The light switch is located on the backside of the restroom below the hill; once it is turned on it will stay on until the park closes at 11 p.m. One safety note for you, while we agree that building jumps and ramps out of snow is a lot of fun, we do ask that you don’t do it since many of the younger sledders are not as good at steering.  

Another activity at McHardy Park is ice skating and hockey. There are two full-sized hockey rinks complete with lights just east of the park. You will want to check the schedules with the Brandon Valley Hockey Association before you show up, as they tend to be pretty busy.

While the rest of the parks stay pretty empty during the winter, I would recommend trying some snow shoes or cross-country skis. There is a lot of wildlife to be seen if you are quiet, including deer, turkey and bald eagles.

Once we are caught up on outdoor jobs we take the winter to go through all of our equipment and make sure they are in good shape for the coming spring. This includes pickups, mowers, weed eaters, athletic nets, picnic tables, etc.

Another job that takes place during the winter is the garbage cans. Hopefully, you have noticed the beautifully painted garbage cans scattered throughout the parks; these are done as a joint project with the schools. Every year we sand them down and paint them white so the school has a nice blank canvas to work with.

So that’s our winter in a nutshell. Please get out and enjoy the parks in a safe and respectful way.