Within historic Mesta Park lies the popular Perle Mesta Park. This lovely community park is a hub of neighborhood activities and events. Help us maintain it for the enjoyment of our community.
As residents complete their Membership application or renewal, they are also invited to make a donation to maintain Perle Mesta Park and Shartel Boulevard. Our goal is to raise enough money to assume responsibility for mowing and trimming the park this Summer. With enough donations, we could also include maintenance of the beds in the park and leaf removal next Fall.
The MPNA partners with the OKC Parks and Recreation Department through a Landscape and Maintenance Agreement. With approval from the Parks Department, the MPNA plants trees and makes other landscape improvements to the park. In 2019 and 2020 we made several improvements – expanding the irrigation system, rebuilding the volleyball courts, and adding the new sign/entrance on the NW corner of the park. Under the provisions of our agreement, the MPNA assumes responsibility for watering the trees we plant and maintaining the flower beds. Our agreement does not include mowing or tree trimming.
The Parks Department maintains 6,200 acres and 166 other parks across the metro area and mows once every three weeks. They try to coordinate their mowing schedule around neighborhood events in the park (e.g., our annual picnic, ice cream social, and Mesta Festa), but they cannot mow more frequently than once every three weeks. That leaves the park looking pretty ragged in the Spring and during rainy periods at other times of the year.
Have you wondered why Shartel Boulevard looks so nice compared to Perle Mesta Park? One obvious reason is irrigation, but another is that it is mowed and line-trimmed weekly. The Shartel Boulevard Development Authority, of which MPNA is a partner, maintains the Boulevard from 13th and Shartel to 18th and Classen – not the Parks Department, so the Boulevard is mowed weekly. When MPNA fundraising returns to pre-COVID levels, we’ll likely expand the irrigation system again to improve the turf and reduce erosion in other sections of the park. Until then, we can make a dramatic improvement to the aesthetics of the park by assuming responsibility for mowing and line trimming more frequently.
Please complete and return your membership application/renewal as soon as possible. The MPNA depends on your voluntary dues more this year than ever. And along with your dues, please consider a one-time, tax-deductible donation to maintain Perle Mesta Park and Shartel Boulevard. It will make a big difference.
