Ribbon cutting held for St. George’s newest park as part of community open house

Written by Mori Kessler
April 29, 2023

ST. GEORGE — Area residents and city officials gathered in the Desert Canyons community Thursday evening to celebrate the official opening of the St. George’s newest park with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

At the ribbon-cutting for the Broken Mesa Park and Community Open House in the Desert Canyons community of St. George, Utah, April, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler. St. George News

Located at 6045 S. Broken Rock Way in the heart of Desert Canyons, the new Broken Mesa Park covers 4.5 acres of land on a hillside set beneath a nearby mesa. The park sports a playground, pavilion and other common park amenities, as well as petroglyph-covered boulders and connections to trails that run through the area.

“This park is really unique in that its been built into the natural landscape,” Shane Moore, director of the city’s Parks and Community Services Department, told St. George News. “We really took advantage of all of the topographical features of the park.”

The park was originally built by the developers of the Desert Canyons community, which is a common practice new developments, St. George Mayor Michele Randall said. New parks will be planned as a part of incoming developments and built by the developer, then handed off to the city so it can be properly maintained.

“There’s always a plan for a park so people can have a place to recreate and have some green grass to play on,” Randall said.

At the ribbon-cutting for the Broken Mesa Park and Community Open House in the Desert Canyons community of St. George, Utah, April, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler. St. George News

The mayor also said parks in general add to the city’s quality of life.

Cody Schmitt, deputy director of the Parks and Community Services Department, went into more detail as to why parks are considered an important part of the city’s infrastructure.

Green spaces that provide residents a way to connect with the environment and each other are vital, he said.

“Parks are not just a luxury, but a necessity for our physical and mental well-being, supplying us with a place to unwind and reconnect with our natural surroundings,” Schmitt said.

In addition to the ribbon cutting for the new park, the city also held a community open house where members of the people were able to speak with elected officials, city department heads and public safety personnel.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler@STGnews

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