Business View Magazine | March 2020

327 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 2020 L I BERTY , MI SSOUR I sprayground , shelters, restrooms – a whole new look. The third project is an expansion of our 28-year-old Liberty Community Center. We have added two family locker rooms with direct pool access, as well as an outdoor pool amenity (an aqua zipline) and an additional fitness space on the back side of the community center to expand our fitness opportunities for members.” Within the parks system, Liberty also has an impressive sports complex with nine baseball/ softball fields, six soccer fields, fishing ponds, and walking trails on about 146 acres. “We have just upgraded the ball fields to synthetic turf,” says Staab. “That complex is used by our local residents of all ages, for a variety of teams and sports leagues. And it’s also a regional and national destination for tournaments, both youth and adult. We have five fully-synthetic turf fields and four that are infield-synthetic only. This extends our playing time at least another two months in a season, when we don’t have to worry about the fields drying out from snow. which also included sidewalk widening and landscaping. And that’s not all, as a part of the voter approved use tax, the city just opened a new animal shelter; a project spearheaded by a local veterinarian who recognized the need to upgrade the existing facility. Also included in the upgrades funded by the Use Tax are many improvements to Liberty’s park system and the Liberty Community Center. BJ Staab, Parks & Recreation Director, speaks about Liberty from the active lifestyle perspective: “Part of the money collected from the city’s use tax was allocated to fund three Parks & Rec projects. The first is upgrades to 10 neighborhood parks, where we asked the residents what amenities or improvements wanted to see in their parks. Those projects are underway and will be finished this year. In the second project, a complete rejuvenation of City Park, includes an inclusive playground, new