The Beaufontaine neighborhood, east of Heber City, is home to a park with a duck pond, walking trails, a playground and outdoor gym structures.
It wasn’t always a bucolic outdoor space. It used to be full of weeds and tall brush. Then last September, roughly 75 people took weed whackers, chainsaws and even a tractor and bush hog to clear the land.
“Anytime you have that open space, it just lends itself to a more peaceful and really relaxing environment,” resident Richard Brambila said. “With a creek, and the pond is just very tranquil, a lot of people will just go and and just sit by the pond. The park and all the other open spaces in our development really adds to the ambiance of the neighborhood.”
Brambila is one of three board members on the Beaufontaine neighborhood HOA, which owns the park. The land has changed ownership several times since the 2008 housing crash, but the original development agreement called for a park with common space for public access.
As HOA President Norm Kuch explains, the park is open to everyone. He also jokes he has to be careful talking it up too much, lest the secret get out.
“There's somebody in there everyday on those swings,” Kuch says. “It can be a real jewel, very different than the other public parks. We do have a playground, but it's more than that. There are trees in there that are large enough to climb on and a creek that goes through. It's really looking good this spring. We hope it continues.”
Neighbors can grab tools and head out for another cleanup day over Mother’s Day weekend. Also over the next month, Ivory Homes, the developer of many homes at Beaufontaine, will plant dozens of trees at the park.
Realtor and nearby resident Creighton Lowe organized the cleanup day last September and invites people to come out Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. until noon.
“We're coming together as a community again, just as local volunteers to do a spring cleanup, finish up what we started last fall by reviving this beautiful little community park,” he says. “Bring the chainsaw, bring your rakes, leaves, loppers, kids, family, dogs, friends. If you want to come early, great. I'll be there at sunrise.”
He says he started the initiative in part because it could have taken a while for past developers or the HOA to invest in the park. He says the developer claimed bankruptcy, and the HOA doesn’t have the money. Meanwhile, local government won’t maintain it because the county doesn’t own the land.
The spring cleanup will spruce things up in time for a few community events happening at the park as summer begins.
On June 10, Lowe says there’ll be a party with local food trucks, face painters, bounce houses and a carnival. Ivory Homes and realtors from Summit Sotheby's will partner to throw the event as a park grand opening and promotion of new homes for sale in the neighborhood.
The park address is 325 South 1850 East, Heber City.
