Cathleen Allison/Nevada AppealCarson City Parks workers Steve Mariolo, left, and Steve Crawford install signs at the Ronald W. Wilson Memorial Park on Wednesday. The new five-acre park, at Mark and James ways, will open to the public Friday.
Construction on a five-acre, dog-friendly park has been completed and will be open to the public Friday in northeast Carson City.
The Ronald D. Wilson Memorial Park is tucked against the freeway embankment at James and Mark ways off Emerson Drive near the entrance to the Cottonwood Mobile Home Park.
Construction began last year on the park that has been at least 10 years in the making. It includes a playground with state-of-the-art equipment, including slides and a climbing rock, a nearby picnic area with a shade canopy, concrete walking paths, a large turf area, landscaped parking lot, and a portable toilet in a permanent enclosure. The park is handicap accessible and features formal landscaped areas and manicured turf as well as low-maintenance, water conserving natural elements.
The official opening of the park is slated for Saturday. Park hours are dawn to dusk daily, and dogs are allowed but must be on a leash at all times. A fountain at the park is for dogs.
City Supervisor Pete Livermore said Wilson, for whom the park was named, was the purchasing agent for the city for a number of years. He was still an employee of the city when he died.
Well-respected, Wilson was an integral part of the city establishing a quality-of-life initiative, and he also helped facilitate the building of the indoor swimming pool at Mills Park, according to Livermore.