Park Officials Say Progress Being Made In Sand Springs

Park officials in Sand Springs are working around the clock to reopen Case Community Park. The skate park is now open but crews say but say reopening the rest of the park could take months.

It doesn't look like much but to leaders at Case Community Park in Sand Springs, this is the sound of progress.

"We made a lot of strides in the park, don't get me wrong but there is still a lot of work to be done," said Sand Springs Parks Department Director Jeff Edwards.

Hundreds of volunteers came out to help start the cleanup process.

"Every one of these chain link fences was solid with leaf debris. All of that is gone,” said Edwards.

Sand Springs Parks Department Director Jeff Edwards says park employees have been power washing and cleaning debris for weeks but the more they try to fix, the more damage they find.

“Concession facilities I mean, they were six feet underwater. All the electric has to be replaced, sheetrock that is damaged has to be replaced," said Edwards, "A lot of that work is not noticed from the surface it is a lot of underground utility work, electrical, water line repair."

Park officials say the splash pad isn't working because it's clogged with sand, some areas in concession stands are molding, and there is still no electricity. Safety concerns also have the trails shut down.

"We still have several sinkholes throughout the park that are 6-8 feet in depth," said Edwards.

The setbacks aren't stopping park crews and community volunteers from pushing forward. They say within weeks they will be ready to open up portions of the park and slowly but surely, make a full recovery.

"We are gonna bring it back just the way it was, probably a little bit better. It is gonna be the park that everybody remembers and it is gonna be safe," said Edwards, "We are working as hard as we can right now."