Lucian Walcott had never taken his 11-month-old granddaughter to Riverfront Park to feed the ducks. So Tuesday morning was a first for little Sylvia Gault.
She watched with wide eyes as her grandfather sprinkled food pellets on a dock and geese came rushing up to eat.
“These guys are pretty tame,” said Walcott. “They come right up to you.”
While feeding the ducks, geese and fish at Riverfront Park has been a longtime tradition, city officials ask that you not feed the animals bread. There is a dispenser at the park that contains pellets that are more diet-appropriate.
“A lot of times people will carry old and molded bread they get from the back of their cabinet and feed it to the geese,” said TWRA officer Joey Wray. “That’s not good for them at all. The pellets are compressed with protein and other nutrients and are a more healthy alternative. It’s much better for them than bread.”
The machine at Riverfront Park will dispense a handful of pellets for 25 cents.
With the weather getting warmer, Riverfront Park has once again become a hotbed of activity. Despite cloudy skies and the threat of rain, the park had a number of visitors Tuesday morning.
McMinnville resident Bill Taylor was enjoying some relaxation time on a comfortable swing. He says he’s a regular park visitor.
“I come here about every day,” said Taylor. “I like watching the squirrels and I’ve seen a mink or two and even one rattlesnake. When it comes to snakes, I don’t bother them if they don’t bother me.”
Taylor formerly lived atop Harrison Ferry Mountain before moving inside the city limits.
“I’ve always enjoyed getting out in the wild,” said Taylor. “This is a good, clean place to walk. I’ll walk about a mile and that will be it for me.”
The Barren Fork Greenway is a .75-mile loop that stretches from Riverfront Park to Pepper Branch Park. Christy Copely and Chelsea Jones were among the people walking the greenway Tuesday morning while pushing their children in strollers. Afterwards, the kids ran down to the play area at Riverfront Park.
As for the two-story gazebo, in place at Riverfront Park since 1986, it remains condemned. The stairs were removed in February to prevent residents from gaining second-story access.
Parks and Recreation director Scott McCord said yesterday no decision has been made on the gazebo’s fate. He said he is waiting on direction from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
In February, city administrator Bill Brock said the city’s only two options were to rebuild it or tear it down.