Belle City Park cattle barn updates, campground installment nearly complete

By Roxie Murphy, Staff Writer
Posted 5/10/23

BELLE — Belle Park Board President Jimmy Zumwalt spent Monday with Mid-State Pipeline employees working on updates at the cattle barn and putting in campsites at the park.

“We are …

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Belle City Park cattle barn updates, campground installment nearly complete

Posted

BELLE — Belle Park Board President Jimmy Zumwalt spent Monday with Mid-State Pipeline employees working on updates at the cattle barn and putting in campsites at the park.

“We are pouring new concrete for a wash rack for the cattle barn and hauling in more dirt for the RV Park,” Zumwalt said. “There is a lot going on.”

Zumwalt has been working since last Thursday to ready the new campground site at the park, using his equipment and volunteering to spread dirt that city public works employees dumped using city dump trucks.

“It’s taken about 30 loads of dirt to fill the spot. The city hauled it in and we donated the work, putting it in place. It was a joint effort between Mid-State Pipeline and the city,” Zumwalt said. “We are putting in a new wash rack at the cattle barn because we tore the old one out last year. There will be a new wash rack and unloading facility. It is a big improvement for the livestock barn.”

The campground site is going in next to Tiger Field bathrooms. Zumwalt’s said it made the most sense financially for the campground to go there. The trees gives it a nice shady space, and it is located near the bathrooms between Tiger Field and the cattle barn.

“We filled in and straightened out the ditch and are roughing in the campsites,” Zumwalt said. “The city put in water and electric hookups there about five years ago, that is how long this has been in the works.”

Zumwalt said they would have like to see the campground expand further up the hill on fair board property in an open space, but they couldn’t get water and electricity to that location without installing a new lift pump, which he estimated would have cost around $30,000.

“We put it in here and it’ll cost us less than $5,000,” Zumwalt said. “Who knows? Maybe a few years down the road we will get a grant to expand it or move it.”

Zumwalt said he hopes to have the campsites and cattle barn wash rack finished up by the end of the Wednesday, May 10 at the latest.

The Belle Fair Board also finished work on the lunch stand addition on Monday morning.

“We are getting all ready for the fair,” Zumwalt said.

He added that Tri-County Youth Association has proposed work to be done on the baseball fields, but doesn’t expect it to begin until fall.

“TYCA is maintaining equipment through ball season,” Zumwalt said. “They will begin projects again in the fall. We will finish the wash rack here for the fair and hopefully, the Ya Ya’s will be done with their improvements by then as well.”