Northeast Park Construction Causes Residents To Complain

Recently, an ABC-7 viewer emailed our staff concerning the condition of a northeast El Paso park.

According to the message, there is a “deplorable situation that exists at Chuck Heinrich Park” due to trash, dead grass, weeds and a lack of upkeep in the area.

ABC-7 reporter Jennifer Myers traveled to the park to see what the condition the area is in.

At first glance, the park might look like a complete mess.

But after speaking with the president and vice president of the North Hills Neighborhood Pride Association, she uncovered that it’s not due to neglect.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

The park is currently undergoing a huge renovation project to improve the area for local residents.

“This is a huge construction effort on this or for the park to get a complete renovation of the sprinkler system and a new pumping station which is going on to our left,” said Vice President of North Hills Neighborhood Pride Association Cliff Atchley.

Piles of dirt, trash and construction equipment litter the area, prompting some residents who frequent the park to complain.

“Most of the complaints have been about dust in the area because of renovation of the park,” said Samuel P. Thompson, President of North Hills Neighborhood Pride Association.

But officials said they aren’t letting the complaints discourage them.

“We like the fact that they elevate those concerns to the association. That gives us an opportunity to address it with the city council or with the city as appropriate as well as the dam commission we’ve been working with,” said Atchley.

The project is scheduled to be finished by next May, just in time for the fallen police officer memorial service the park hosts every year.

Until then, park representatives said residents will just have to work around the mess.

“If they’ll be patient and wait until the next year they will be proud. This will be one of the outstanding parks in El Paso for everyone to be proud of and for everybody to come over and see,” said Thompson.

As for the trash problem, Atchley said that’s a problem many parks face.

The park is cleaned about once every week, which means trash can sometimes build up in the area if residents and visitors aren’t keeping up with the litter.

“If the people themselves were to just take up of cleaning up after themselves then we won’t see the level of garbage that’s been building up in the garbage cans,” said Atchley.

Officials add that even though the park will be under construction for the next few months, the park will remain open.

If you would like to attend the North Hills Neighborhood Pride Association meetings held every month, you can find a schedule along with an update on the parks’ progress at this website.