Community Corner

Mount Pleasant Parks Commission President Calls on Residents to Support Parks

Harvey Radke says the village lacks a sense of community and that has to change.

"This is our village, and the question is, what do people want to do to help?" asked long time resident Harvey Radke, president of the Mount Pleasant Parks Commission.

He was talking specifically about the lack of a single pledge toward the new ball diamonds at the village hall campus and more broadly about how residents think about quality of life in Mount Pleasant.

The campaign officially kicked off on June 25 during the Village Hall Open House. Deputy Planning Director Brennan Kane confirmed that the village has not received any pledges.

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"We've not received any pledges just yet," Kane said. "We are targeting local businesses and will be ramping up the local scene in the next month."

The Parks Commission formed a non-profit group to help raise almost $200,000 for the first phase of the new park after the Village Board budgeted $100,000 to get the ball rolling. Total costs are about $276,000 for three ball diamonds and necessary grading and infrastructure for drainage.

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"I feel like Mount Pleasant lacks a certain sense of community present in other places like West Bend," he said. "Mount Pleasant is a small town next to a city and we've been taking advantage of those amenities, like parks."

But Radke said that as Mount Pleasant strives for an identity as a leading urban community, residents are going to have to pull together to make sure that includes larger, quality-of-life issues like a thriving parks system.

Radke also recognizes the challenge, too, because this is the first effort of its kind.

"Most parks, like Smolenski, were from donations," Radke said. "So giving is not new here, but going to residents and area businesses and asking for their support to build a new park from scratch is something we've never done before."

Still, he points to the generosity of village residents using as an example the $10 million gift that kick-started the construction of the new Village Hall.

"It's amazing that we have people like that here," Radke stated. "We need to make more connections like this, even as memorials, similar to what we do with trees or benches."

If you are interested in making a donation for the new park, please contact Village Hall at (262) 554-8750.


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