Renovated Cairns Park debuting Monday
MONROE — An 85-year-old Monroe park has been transformed.
The City of Monroe’s Cairns Park, which opened in 1939, has several new amenities that will be unveiled Monday. The city also has plans to upgrade more of its parks. St. Mary's Park is next on the list.
Much is new at Cairns Park.
“Previously the park was primarily an open space with a basketball court, baseball backstop and playground. Improvements include a brand-new playground, including a splash pad. We also added three tennis courts, eight new pickleball courts and a volleyball court. Other improvements include new picnic shelters, benches, walking trails and restrooms,” said Mark Cochran, director of economic and community development for the City of Monroe. "We are also looking into the addition of basketball back into the neighborhood, as well."
A ribbon-cutting ceremony to show off the renovations will take place at 6:30 p.m. April 15 at Cairns Park, 802 W. Eighth St., at West Eighth and South Roessler streets.
“We're incredibly proud to be unveiling the newly renovated park for the community to enjoy,” Cochran said. “We hope the public will enjoy this newest crown jewel in the park system for generations to come."
Although open for use, Cairns Park still needs some finishing touches.
"We appreciate everyone’s patience as we continue to address the final punchlist items for the construction contract, including correcting the pickleball nets and signage and landscaping," Cochran said. "We are also expanding our partnership with the Monroe Family YMCA to host pickleball clinics, so interested residents can learn how to play."
Cairns Park, which sits on 4.2 acres, is one of 36 parks operated by the City of Monroe. It is named for Catholic priest Father George Cairns, who also was the first chairman of the Monroe Recreation Commission. He began planning the city’s first public park in 1933. His park started as Cairns Field and included playground equipment, spaces for baseball and softball, deck tennis and horseshoes. Cairns died in 1983.
When the City of Monroe completed its Parks Master Plan in 2017 (it was updated in 2022), Cairns and Labor parks were identified as two of the spaces most needing improvements.
“It identified several parks for major improvements,” Cochran said. “While we are continuously making improvements to maintain all of our parks in the parks system, Labor Park was the first park plan implemented when its renovation was done in 2022. Father Cairns Park is one of our larger parks that services one of the larger neighborhoods and population areas in the southwest quadrant of the city,” Cochran said.
Much of the work at Cairns was done last fall.
“The construction contracts were awarded by city council in November, 2022, with the substantial improvements beginning in early spring, 2023. Work continued throughout the summer and fall, when most of the substantial work was completed before the winter season," Cochran said.
Now, the City of Monroe is looking at refreshing its other parks.
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"On March 18, city council awarded a contract to Mannik & Smith Group to begin developing the construction design documents for the renovation of St. Mary’s Park, including the parking lot that is in a state of deterioration. Construction is planned for 2025," Cochran said. "We will continue to explore opportunities to implement the Parks Master Plan priorities, including Mill Race Park, Manor Park and Munson Park. Rest assured, we have plans to continuously update all of our parks for the residents to actively enjoy."
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Renovated Cairns Park debuting Monday
