Sterkel Community Park for All officially opens: ‘This place has everything!’

MANSFIELD — A young girl ran, laughed and called out to her friend on the playground Thursday morning.

“This place has everything!” she shouted on the bright, sunny day.

Somewhere, Justine Sterkel smiled.

The youngster and her friend were enjoying the new Sterkel Community Park for All — a 20-acre inclusive park and playground located off Hillcrest Street.

The revitalized city park can trace its roots back to the former Mansfield philanthropist who owned the land, located off Lexington Avenue, and fought to keep it for public institutions of charity.

The new park, featuring large playground areas for different age groups and abilities, was “officially” opened Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony under the shade of an open-air pavilion on the site.

The multi-million dollar park, an idea launched publicly in 2021 by Richland Newhope Supt. Michelle Giess, came to fruition as the result of public-private partnerships. Officials said those partnerships have transformed it into one of Ohio’s premier community parks.

“There is absolutely no way the city could have done this on its own,” Mayor Jodie Perry said. “This partnership, this collaboration, really is a key thing to us getting this across the finish line.”

Giess, who said she has talked about the park since 2019 after a phone call with Allie Watson from the Richland County Foundation, said “it’s hard to believe” the official opening day for the park had arrived.

“It’s just turned out fantastic,” she said before the ceremony. “Thanks to all of the people who have worked on this and put this together … it’s really turned out just tremendous.”

(Below are photos associated with the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, officially opening the new Sterkel Community Park for All in Mansfield. The story continues below the photos.)

The project had a complicated funding stream, including a private fundraiser led by fundraising guru Chriss Harris of CHarris Consulting, as well as city, county and state monies.

Giess admitted there were moments she wondered if the dream would become a reality.

“I think that’s the ebb and flow of any long project. It took a long time to raise the money, but there were some pivotal points.

“Obviously, working with Chriss Harris and her group, the collaboration with the county commissioners, the City of Mansfield … it was all instrumental,” the Newhope leader said.

“There were times when I thought this wouldn’t happen and it became a little frustrating, but we pushed through those moments because we knew something great was going to happen at the end,” Giess said.

In her remarks before the ribbon cutting, Giess thanked everyone who contributed to the park’s development.

“We sat over there in the parking lot in August 2022 and had lunch and dreamed of doing something really cool in this community. We looked at some really dilapidated playground equipment. We talked about the ‘wheel of death.’ We looked at the tennis courts, which was basically a big pile of rubble.

“We asked for everyone’s contributions and support and I think we came up with something pretty cool,” Giess said.

Harris echoed her thanks to financial contributors.

“I do what I do in the community because I enjoy it. It’s a business for me, too, but I really do enjoy it very much. This is my hometown and I want to support it and I hope to continue to do so,” Harris said.

One of those in attendance Thursday was Cheryl Meier, a Mansfield lawmaker whose 2nd Ward is home to the new park.

Meier said she was running for Mansfield City Council six years ago when she first heard about the proposed Sterkel Community Park for All.

Meier said Giess put a bug into her ear that resonated deeply.

“I remember back in 2019 when I was running, Michelle stopped me and told me about the plan for the park,” Meier said.

“When I walked door to door in this neighborhood while campaigning, so many people talked to me about the demise of what was here.

“It was one of my missions to try to become involved, to help get this to where we are today … and it’s fabulous,” said Meier, who won the seat in 2019 and was unopposed for re-election in 2023.

Richland County Commissioner Cliff Mears repeated a story he used during a park fundraising update in 2023.

“When we were first conceptualizing what he planned to do here, I referenced the Cat Stevens song that was playing on the radio as I drove to the event. It was a song about, ‘Where do the children play?’

“I reference that again today because we now know … this is where the children play,” Mears said.

“Personally, I think if more people play together, we’d have a lot fewer problems in this world,” he said.

Mansfield Public Works Director Louis Andres, who has worked in and around parks for 43 years, said Sterkel Community Park for All ranks among the best he has seen in his career.

“We are finally at a point where people are seeing a lot of positive things (in city parks) and this is kind of the icing on the cake because this is going to be our premiere park,” he said.

“We are going to be bringing people in from outside of this community because this park is very unique in Ohio,” he said.

“It’s very gratifying to see this get done and completed and to recognize all of the different people who contributed and worked together to make it happen,” he said.

(Below are photos taken Thursday morning showing some of the amenities of the new Sterkel Community Park for All in Mansfield. The park was officially opened Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The story continues below the photos.)

Lee Tasseff, president of Destination Mansfield-Richland, said the new park adds to the “brand” of Mansfield and Richland County.

“To have a facility like this where kids can come and play, so close to the YMCA and other services here, is phenomenal,” he said. “This is the most comprehensive playground park I’ve ever seen. This is the kind of thing families want.”

“If a family is coming here for leisure, and they know this park exists, they can come and let their kids run around and burn off some energy and have a good time. And they’re going to love it,” Tasseff said.

Mansfield Safety-Service Director Keith Porch, the city’s former police chief, said technology will help the MPD to keep the park secure and safe, including cameras and motion detectors.

“It will detect people in the park who comes in after hours that they are trespassing and it will also notify the police,” he said.

“Hopefully, those warnings will give someone a clue they are being watched and to press on and not to engage in any illegal activity,” Porch said.

The park, open daily, closes at sunset.