MANSFIELD — Prospect Park holds a special place in the heart of Kristine Lindeman.
It’s a true family connection that spans generations.
That’s one of the reasons the co-owner and vice president of Alumni Roofing in Mansfield was happy to be involved in a public/private partnership to improve the three-acre neighborhood park at 542 Marquis Ave. on the city’s southeast side.
“My dad grew up a Prospect rat. My parents both graduated from Malabar. My mom taught at Prospect School. My grandparents, Dick and Millie Palmer owned the Palmer’s Bakery,” Lindeman said Tuesday morning.
“Parks are important to us. Accessibility is important to us, so I was glad (Mayor Jodie Perry) made the call. So it’s a little extra special (this) being at Prospect,” Lindeman said.
Lindeman was among those who spoke Tuesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new ADA-accessible, outdoor pavilion at the park. It replaces an old pavilion demolished about five years ago.
The facility, which includes new picnic tables, a large charcoal grill and a water fountain, was funded through contributions from the Rotary Club of Mansfield, Alumni Roofing, Purdy Construction and the Richland County Foundation.
The park is a landmark in the neighborhood and also of historical significance to the city. Prospect is where local children first learned pedestrian safety at Safety Town in 1937, the year the park opened.
Prospect Park also includes playground equipment (installed in 2024), a basketball court (with new hoops), an adjacent softball/baseball field (with new fences) and a large field suitable for soccer, flag football and more.
(Below are photos taken Tuesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate a new pavilion and other recent improvements at Prospect Park in Mansfield. The story continues below the photos.)
Mansfield Public Works Director Louis Andres praised the public/private partnership at the event.
“We have had great partnerships, that we’ve been working on, some of them as long as a couple of years. (Everyone) working together, we were able to get this (Prospect Park) project done,” he said.
“The first day that we got the basketball courts done, I drove by and there were three kids playing basketball. Our idea is to get these parks in the community, to get the kids out of their house and outside and experiencing parks. That’s what parks are about … about people.
“What we’re trying to do is encourage people to come to the parks, be outside, put your cell phone down, and just actually enjoy the outdoors,” Andres said.
Perry said the partnerships, including Richland Public Health, make park improvements possible.
“As I was driving over, I was just thinking about how we’ve done so many of these projects at different parks and how many people had to help get it to happen. If we were only relying on the city’s parks budget, it would be a small drop of what we’ve been able to do,” the mayor said.
“I’ve been a proud Rotarian for 20 (years). I think this is my 21st year in three different clubs now. I really appreciate Rotary’s willingness to step up to do projects like this in the community,” Perry said.
The mayor said many residents had reached out to her about Prospect Park since she took office in January 2024.
“The shelter that had been here before had been torn down prior to us coming into office. We’ve been hearing from the neighbors and the residents here that they missed it … that they felt like they needed a place to gather and that the neighborhood was suffering,” Perry said.
“That’s how it got started.”
In November 2024, the local Rotary Club announced its commitment to funding the new pavilion, led by then-President Kyle Swigart.
He said Tuesday he knew Perry wanted to make improvements in the city parks after becoming mayor.
“We hadn’t done a project for a few years and I had talked to our board and some of the members of the club and thought, ‘Hey, could we do something like this?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, sure, how do we do it?'”
Swigart said he met with Perry and Andres about Rotary Club’s interest and the project began to take shape, including the involvement of Alumni Roofing and Purdy Construction.
“That’s what our vision was … to get our participation and get collaboration with the city and Purdy and Alumni Roofing,” Swigart said.
Dr. Julia Chaya, health commissioner at Richland Public Health, said the local organization was again proud to participate. RPH helped fund the new basketball hoops at the park.
“Please make sure that you come back and check out the basketball courts and get some of that physical activity in and enjoy the pavilion, as well,” Chaya said Tuesday.
“I’m also a Rotary member … so very super proud of this. Good job, everyone. This was a huge accomplishment.
“If you have a park somewhere in Richland County or in the city of Mansfield that could use a little bit extra TLC, the health department is more than happy to bring grant funds forward to make that contribution and make our city, as well as our county, an excellent place to live — mentally, physically, emotionally (and) spiritually,” Chaya said.
City Parks Director Mike Woogerd said Prospect Park was also important to him.
“I went to Malabar. My brothers went to Prospect and my aunt lived on (nearby) Reba (Avenue), right here on the corner. I ran around this park like crazy. When I heard about the pavilion going down … that stinks to lose something like that.
“But to put a picnic shelter like this in this park … it’s now one of the nicest areas to picnic in our park system, which is really nice. I’ve already seen people enjoying the basketball court, so thanks to Richland Public Health so much for that.
“I’ve talked to James Wilson recently, who runs some of our recreational programs at Johns Park. He’s gonna bring t-ball and flag football to Prospect Park pretty soon, too.
“So this shelter and that drinking fountain is gonna help out those kids,” Woogerd said.
