As the weather continues to improve with the spring season here, the Levelland Parks and Cemetery Department are continuing to provide a quality experience for the community.
Parks and Cemetery Director, Dustin Reichelt explained that the department is in spring mode addressing all the necessary areas for the public to enjoy. Currently in ‘high gear’, regular mowing is taking place and the irrigation systems have been checked and already running.
With a handful of days providing pleasant weather, Reichelt and the department are already seeing the parks and playgrounds being utilized by community members throughout town.
This includes the lake areas where there has been an uptick in fishing during the weekends and during spring break.
“We are definitely seeing a lot more foot traffic at the parks and we consider this transition time as most of the playgrounds and park areas have been dormant,” explained Reichelt. “With that comes more mowing and more people. We can really expect the parks to start greeningup here in the next couple of weeks.”
Reichelt added that a lot of community members find the spring time the best to be out and utilize the park areas as the days are longer with the time change and the summer heat has yet to become a factor.
The department is responsible for over 200 acres of land which includes 14 parks (including skate park, RV park and the Oxy Sports Complex) and 13 playgrounds.
From landscaping, up-keep, repairs, additions and general improvements to the area, Reichelt and his team work through the seasons to provide the community of Levelland a safe and inviting environment to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends.
Since the beginning of March, the sports complex has been used for youth baseball, the youth softball will also utilize the complex through April and the youth soccer league will use the soccer field north of the softball and baseball fields at the complex.
At the city park, the adult softball field has been in use as the adult league has been going strong as well.
Throughout the spring and summer, tournaments will be held at the sports complex along with adult softball tournaments at City Park.
For the spring season, the community was invited to the third annual Parks Easter Egg Hunt on April 12. The hunt was held at the City Park at Pavilion One. The event is always free to the public and the hunt is open to anyone 12-years-old or under.
“It is a great event for the kids and the community,” said Reichelt. “We have 8,000 eggs ready for the event and we had a lot of gracious volunteers take the time to stuff those eggs. That was a blessing and this will be 2,000 more eggs than last year.”
Seeing an impressive turnout of children and families enjoying the event in the previous years, Reichelt feels there will be a solid turnout for this year’s event.
The application process is currently open for seasonal maintenance positions for the Parks and Cemetery Department along with lifeguard positions for the summer.
Those interested in applying can do so at the City of Levelland website.
Cemetery personnel continue to work throughout all seasons ensuring the grounds are well maintained. Reichelt added that their main jobs focus on maintaining the grounds and making sure the rules are being followed on the grounds.
“Those guys take their jobs seriously and have a considerable amount of pride in taking care of the cemeteries,” said Reichelt. “They help grieving families bury their loved one while showing the utmost respect for everyone involved.”
Under the scope of Reichelt’s care, the two cemeteries in Levelland include the Memorial Garden cemetery located on Highway 114 and the City of Levelland cemetery located on Avenue H.
Reichelt added that new trees have been planted in the cemeteries and the water well is operational at the city cemetery.
Coming off of a recent cemetery cleanup, Reichelt highlighted that the rules and guidelines are in place according to the Cemetery Advisory Board.
“The rules in place to ensure the cemetery is safe and the grounds remain clean,” said Reichelt. “When we have things outside of the rules the area can become cluttered quickly especially with the high winds we have been experiencing. It becomes difficult for the maintenance guys to keep the grounds clean.”
Reichelt explained that the rules are not there to discourage any individual or overstep bounds.
“The biggest thing with the cemetery cleanup is we are not going out there and picking up anything that is within code,” said Reichelt. “We are going through and making sure that there are no holiday decorations that have been left out past the allotted time such as glass containers, lights, frayed or damaged flowers. It is really just getting things back to code. If it is in code that is fine.”
Rules for the cemetery can be found at the City of Levelland website.