ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Every community wants to have a distinct identity, and Liberal has been working on just that in recent times.

Liberal Vice Mayor Janeth Vazquez said there has been much effort put forth to help Liberal highlight its culture to other communities.

“A main goal is to help bring joy to people in the community, and I think we’ve done a great job getting those efforts started. I’m always hearing ‘What is there to do in Liberal?’ and there’s actually a lot to do in town, but people need to do some of the research themselves,” Vazquez said. “One thing we’ve done is create a community events calendar where people can not only look at what’s going on on a particular day, but they can also submit future events so we can help spread the word about them. Another project we took on was the Common Consumption Area downtown, and it’s a great way for people to eat and drink in those restaurants outside. That’s also helped bring a lot of people to downtown events, and there have been many times I’ve been at those events and seen everyone just so, so happy to be out and about, and it’s great for individuals and families. This year was also the second year for the Liberal Community Municipal Band, they had four performances this summer, and that got started because the directors were bored and wanted to make music, so they started it for people in the community who wanted to be part of that, and all of their concerts were great. There have also been multiple improvements made at Willow Tree Golf Course, both inside and outside, and those improvements were really needed, so we were really happy to see them come together. There’s also been an effort to increase artistry in town, such as the Liberal mural in Light Park, which many people stop by and take photos with, and there’s also been the addition of banner flags and other downtown decor.”

There has also been a lot of work done in the downtown area, Vazquez said.

“One of the bigger things with the downtown decor was the big Christmas decorations we put up by the fountain, and it wasn’t too long ago we approved the purchase of a 26-foot Christmas tree package that will be put up at the 3rd Street fountain, and that will be used for community tree-lighting celebrations and other holiday events,” Vazquez said. “So many times, we’ve visited another community and someone has said ‘How come Liberal doesn’t have that?’ to which I respond, ‘Why can’t we?’ The goal is to help implement some of those bigger projects and bring more people and families to the downtown area. We’ve also upgraded multiple signs throughout town that have really helped improve the overall look of everything. We want to add to the growth and have things in town that are more fun and enhance the quality of life while also making sure we’re being fiscally responsible, because we do care about how taxpayer money is spent.”

City commissioner Nathan McCaffrey added there have been efforts to help make the community more playful for locals and visitors.

“There’s been new lighting put in at the parks for people who want to visit them in the evenings, and there have been many people express thanks about that. Light Park saw the installation of the outdoor fitness court earlier this year, and that’s also seen quite a bit of use,” McCaffrey said. “There are also some pickleball courts being installed, and I know there are a lot of people excited for that to get done. There have also been multiple improvements done at Arkalon Park, and there’s more work that will be done there to help enhance visitors’ experience there. Another project I heard about even when I was still on the county commission was the community dog park – I had multiple people asking me why the county couldn’t do anything about it, but it was definitely more of a city matter than a county matter, and I’m happy it’s finally coming together for the community. The biggest project that’s just started some work is the community water park and indoor natatorium. With the water park, we’ve got a great company we’re working with that will be helping us through that process, and there’s a lot of work to be done with that to make it awesome for everyone. The natatorium project is another big one, and there will be many discussions and a lot of work with the college here in the coming months, which I’m really looking forward to, because that’s another thing that’s been needed for a long time.”