MILLS, Wyo. — Before too long, residents of Mills will have a new public park to enjoy, as the city recently approved a bid from Andreen Hunt Construction to complete the project for $447,700.
The park, which will be located along Robertson Road near the intersection with Poison Spider Road, will cover four acres and feature a wide range of playground equipment for all ages.
“The idea is, we’ll have a section of playground equipment for really young kids up to about 5-year-olds,” Mills Community Development Director Sabrina Kemper said. “Then there will be a section with playground equipment for 5–12-year-olds.”
There will also be a pathway that wraps around the park’s perimeter and will eventually be linked to the bike trail that the town is expecting to start work on in the coming year.
The project has been in the planning stages since last year, when the landowner gave the land to the city and asked the local government to build a park there.
“He wanted there to be a park there, but he wanted the city to build it so that it’d be public,” Kemper said.
Kemper said she hopes to see construction begin very soon, potentially in the coming week. Once work starts, she expects it to be completed in August.
The funding for the project comes through a grant the city received through the National Parks Service and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Currently, the project is being referred to as the “Robertson Hills park” due to its located in the Robertson Hills neighborhood, but Kemper said the city isn’t intending to keep that name. When the park is done, the city will allow residents to name the park.
The naming contest will likely begin in June, Kemper said. The town will allow residents to submit potential names for the park online, and may also have a booth at the Mills Summer Festival for people to write in names in person. After that, voting will take place online.
“We just thought that would be a really fun way of getting the community involved and making them feel like this really is their park,” Kemper said.
