Reeves Park Getting Back in Shape After Dogwood Festival

Blame it on big, heavy rides placed on the low-lying softball field, or blame the week of drenching rain.

No matter the possible causes, took on some drastic damage after this year’s Dogwood Festival, held in May. At Phoenixville Borough Council’s June meeting, council members lamented the shape of the park and expressed a desire to work with the Phoenixville Jaycees, the organization behind the annual event, which features a carnival of sorts staged right in the one-block-square Reeves Park.

“Candidly, I’m not at all satisfied with the look of the park,” Borough Manager Jean Krack said back in June.

At that meeting, he cited ruts in the ground, damage to a fence and some possible sidewalk issues. Councilman David Gautreau (R-East) pointed out then that there was some miscommunication, and noted that the Jaycees seemed willing to work with the borough, which hadn't communicated the extent of its concerns to the organization at that point.

“They do sound like they want to do the right thing for the borough,” Gautreau said in June.

At that meeting, Krack suggested some possible remedies to ensure similar damage didn't happen during future festivals. One suggestion was to take another look at the location of the festival and whether or not Reeves Park is a good fit. Another idea was to have the Jaycees sign a maintenance bond for a few thousand dollars to help ensure the problems would be fixed if the park sustained damage.

"We have to take control of the situation," Krack said at the June meeting.

Council received another update on the state of the park at its July meeting, held last week. Krack said he was pleased with the progress made.

“It’s come a long way,” he told council. “It’s still rough around the edges.”

The Jaycees, however, were happy to sit down with borough officials to try to get the park back in shape, he noted. No borough money was spent on the repairs, according to Krack.

Mayor Leo Scoda expressed concern about the changing face of the festival over the years. He explained that nothing—no rides, particularly—should be placed on the low-lying softball field in the park.

“The rides seem to be getting bigger and heavier,” Scoda said.

He suggested borough officials sit down with members of the Jaycees to get the festival “back to the community atmosphere.” More community groups should be involved, rather than professional vendors, Scoda noted, and the rides may have gotten too large.

“Are we missing what was the real Dogwood event?” Scoda asked.

Council President Richard Kirkner said rides should never have been placed on the softball field. Council decided to remove a fence around the field several years ago.

“That decision was made with the understanding that there would be no rides on the ball field,” Kirkner said.

While the damage was done, most has been repaired. Now, it’s simply a matter of waiting for the grass to grow, Krack told council. Officials might get back in touch with the Jaycees after taking another look at the park in September. However, Krack said overall, he was pleased with the progress made by the Jaycees.

“It turned out better than we thought,” Krack said.