“This is a wonderful base, because below this, for 15 years we’ve put AB3 gravel and sand down to form a 6 to 8-inch base,” arboretum president Kenny Ervin said, as he snapped pictures of the workers Wednesday afternoon.
The concrete forms stretched from the edge of Wilson Street to an arbor and gardens just east of the entrance drive, and from there on further south.
“They poured 966-feet of concrete,” Ervin said. “This completes the paving of all the trails on the south side of the arboretum. It’s entirely handicap accessible now and maintenance free. I won’t be spraying it with Round-Up anymore.”
The total cost for this phase of the trail work was around $19,000.
“Parsons Arboretum paid for the concrete with grants and donations. We got a grant from the Parsons Area Community Foundation for $2,500. We got $2,000 from the Rotary Club and Roberta Whetzel gave us $4,600 in memory of her husband. She is the one that has the arbor behind the building,” Ervin said. “The city of Parsons paid for the labor.”
(Read more: Parsons Sun)