Mancos will soon be building a new park on the north side of town.

The park will be located in the Creekside subdivision at the northwest corner of Angel Way and North Willow Street, according to Town Administrator Heather Alvarez. It will be built using funds from a Great Outdoors Colorado grant the town recently received.

The overall project is budgeted at $60,000, with $45,000 supplied by the GOCO grant and the rest paid for by the town of Mancos, Alvarez said.

The new park aims to fill a need for a park on the town’s north side, where one-third of Mancos residents live. Currently, the only two parks in town – Boyle and Cottonwood parks – are situated in southern Mancos.

To design the park’s playground, the town came up with three options, which were then voted upon by Mancos Elementary School students. The students chose the first option, which includes a playground, two picnic tables, a shade structure and a grassy area.

The equipment will be nature-themed, with incorporated educational elements, according to GOCO. Town officials hope to add on to the park in the future with a community garden, orchard and walking trail.

Alvarez emphasized that the park will be managed and maintained completely organically.

“In response to citizen concerns regarding weed management in town, this park is being planned and implemented to be maintained completely organically from the beginning,” she said. “Cottonwood Park on the south side of town and this park on the north side of town will give citizens two options for herbicide-free park/playground and open space areas.”

Once the town receives the executed contract documents from GOCO, they will be able to solicit bids for and break ground on the project, Alvarez said. The grand opening for the new park is currently set for August 2020, but they hope to finish up before then since it’s not a huge project, she added.

ealvero@the-journal.com