City proposes change to parks' hours

Mayor Rusty Moody has asked the City Council to consider setting new operating hours for parks and City Lake.
The council at its meeting Tuesday night accepted an ordinance for introduction and will hold a public hearing on the topic next month. Moody was absent.
Facilities affected by the change in addition to the lake include the Walking Park, Circle Park, Harris Park and Southeast Park.
Current hours are sunrise until 11 p.m. Moody proposes changing that for non-lighted facilities to open at sunrise and close at sunset.
No one will be permitted in the parks outside those hours without express permission from the mayor. The city’s lighted ball fields, basketball courts and tennis courts would not have new hours.
Moody noted at last week’s pre-council meeting that vandalism has already been a problem at the new City Lake recreation area, which opened last summer.