It's still too wet to fix McHardy Park, but help is on the way

When the heavy snow and rain came to the Brandon area last month, it left a path of destruction that’s still visible in its aftermath.

With Splitrock Creek creeping outside its banks due to the overwhelming amount of water, a perfect combination came together to create an eerie sight in the park. The thick ice on the creek’s surface began to back up at the pedestrian bridge that runs on the south side of the park. The water made it under the bridge, but the ice began to break up, sending massive chunks into the park, where it littered the grounds.

The soccer goals, which normally sit on an open field on the park’s north side, could barely be seen as the tops of each goal poked out of the chunks of ice. The playground was surrounded by large ice structures, and the picnic area and ballpark were under siege from the ice.

Now, over a month after the storm, the devastation can still be seen. The park remains closed, and the soccer field and surrounding parts of the park are littered with debris.

“We’ve seen flooding before, and that’s pretty common. You just wait for it to dry up, and then you go clean it,” said Brandon park department manager Devin Coughlin, who has been with the department since 2005. “But I’ve never had the ice and all the damage. I’ve only seen things like that on TV.”

Standing on Aspen Boulevard a day after the storm, an eye test could see that there was damage to the soccer field. But the ice chunks cut deeper.

The park suffered other losses, such as five light poles, five playground pieces and the fence around the ballpark. Sand volleyball poles were leveled, the doors to the restrooms were smashed, and the picnic shelter by the ballpark was damaged.

The park remains closed, but help is on the way. Coughlin said the department is formulating a plan to begin the repairs, but they’re unable to do so at this time because the grounds are still too wet for equipment to get on the park’s surface.

Coughlin said the plan is to hopefully get some drying weather in the coming weeks so the park department can organize a community clean-up event on a Saturday in early to mid May.

“We’ve had a lot of people reaching out, asking what they can do to help,” Coughlin said. “Unfortunately I have to tell them we have to wait. I’m not ready for them yet, but once we’re ready, we’ll let people know and hopefully we’ll get enough people rounded up to help."

Coughlin said even after the park is cleaned up and the debris has been removed, parts of the park, like the playground and ballpark, will remain closed until all repairs are made.