Community Center Gets New Benches, Chess Tables

The city last week finished installing 18 new benches and three new chess tables in the shared space between the , the and .

Guy Miller, the recreation services manager, said the new benches will be put to use by the community during events such as arts and crafts fairs.

“There was nowhere for people to sit before,” said Laura Campell, a maintenance worker for the city, who this afternoon planted new voilas, pansies and snapdragons under the canopy of a cedar tree, nestled in between three new benches.

“Now there’s a place to sit down and get some shade,” she said.

“I’ll be excited when my daughter’s ballet class starts; that’s where we spend time when she’s in class,” said Julia Benedetti, a Rohnert Park mother of three.

A $34,000 state parks grant, awarded to the city in 2000, paid for the purchase and installation of the new benches and chess sets, as well as six new trash and recycling cans, according to Miller. The original grant was $115,000; the city used the other half to build the playground approximately two years ago.

Miller is announcing the project's completion to the City Council at tomorrow’s Council meeting.

“This was a pretty big project, and we want to let the city know what we’ve done,” Miller said.