Johnstown, PA (WJAC) — Johnstown officials say changes are coming to Central Park and Main Street as soon as next year.
After holding an open house on Wednesday to get ideas from the public, officials say design options should be coming soon.
6 News reported in March that officials were talking about potentially relocating the War Memorial statues in Central Park, and they say that idea is still on the table.
Officials say they will get input from veteran groups, as well as from local businesses and the public, before they make that decision.
Johnstown officials say they're moving forward with their plans to revitalize Central Park and Main Street following the public meeting.
“Right now is kind of step ten of a 100 step process, but we're really excited to get moving and to talk to the public about the project and the process. It was nice to open the doors for the public and say let's get started with this project. Here's the process that we're going to move on, and we need your input. We need you to make it work and to make it happen,” Johnstown city manager Ethan Imhoff said.
City officials say they should have design options for the project sometime this summer to try to integrate the suggestions from the public.
They say common requests have been a space for more events at the park and making the park more interactive, including the possibility of having a fountain that kids can play in.
One Johnstown resident says making the park a better lunch spot should also be considered.
“Maybe some more benches or maybe some picnic tables would be nice here. It's a nice place to relax at lunch time. Maybe some more food vendors and maybe the plans for the fountain. I think that's a great idea for the kids,” said Lisa Hauliska.
“This is a next generation project. The existing infrastructure you see is almost 50 years old and this is going to be a project that will probably last for 50 years and beyond, so we really want it to reflect what the next generation would like to see out of the project,” Imhoff added.
City officials say they plan to have more public meetings to share the possible design options when they start coming in.
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