Tag Archives: Schantz Park

Work has begun on improving Schantz Park

3 Oct

I picked up a bit of rather exciting news from the Village of Webster’s Sept. 8 newsletter, which reported that plans are in motion to bring some much needed improvements to Schantz Park.

Schantz Park is nestled between State Rd. and Hawley Dr. on the south side of the Village of Webster. It’s a multi-use recreational space which features a baseball diamond, basketball court, a few picnic tables and grills, and a playground. There are also some old tennis courts which haven’t been usable for years and are rather an embarrassment.

The whole park has needed some attention for quite a while, and work has begun on a whole list of improvements. According to the newsletter, at their August 27 meeting, the Village Board voted to accept a bid from Kircher Construction for work for stage one of the project, work on the basketball court’s concrete pad and installation of a toddler basketball court.

The existing basketball court will be removed and a new 30 x 60 concrete pad will be installed in the same area. The toddler basketball court will feature two partial half courts, with a high-performance, waterproof VersaCore surface and shorter hoops.

The basketball courts are just the start of many improvements planned for the park. They include:

  • a proposed walking trail around the perimeter of the park
  • new playground equipment and new safety surface
  • pickleball courts where the tennis courts are now
  • expanded parking area
  • replacing the baseball field with soccer goals and obstacle course equipment

The map below shows these and other proposed improvements. Residents can continue to offer their comments or questions about the project using this online comment form.

The toddler basketball court is part of the Little Legends project, in partnership with the Rochester-based Knox & Nash Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports families navigating pregnancy, NICU, and infant loss. It was established by Codi and Andrew Mrozek in memory of their twin boys, Knox and Nash, who passed last January due to Twin to Twin
Transfusion Syndrome. Codi is coach of the Webster Schroeder girls basketball team, and also a teacher in the district.

Codi and Andrew’s mission is to improve bereavement care for families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss, a loss in the NICU, and the loss of one or all twins or multiples. They plan to honor their sons with the new Little Legends playground and toddler basketball court at Schantz Park.

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(posted 10/3/2026)

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Village looks to upgrade two of its parks

30 Jun

If you’re a fan of our village parks, here’s something that might interest you:  Our village administrators are looking to make improvements to two of them, Schantz Park on State Rd. and Veterans Memorial Park (Gazebo Park) on North Ave.

A lot of changes are being proposed, all of which can be seen in the photos I’ve included above. You can also click here to see a detailed .pdf document:  2018.06.26 DRAFT Webster Parks Public Meeting. But here are some of the highlights:

Improvements to Schantz Park would focus mostly on the southeast portion of the park, adjacent to State Road. The tennis courts, which are infrequently used and are in very poor repair, would be removed entirely. Replacing them would be a much larger parking lot, a pavilion and a natural play area. All would presumably make the park more comfortable and welcoming for families and fans who come to watch ball games played there.

Plans for Veterans Memorial Park are much more extensive.

The biggest change would be the addition of a sidewalk encircling the entire grassy area of the park, expanding into a larger paved area directly in front of the gazebo. The idea here is to encourage better circulation and additional seating area, with the added benefit of providing easier access for those with disabilities.

The veteran’s memorial itself and its gardens would be moved from the southeast corner of the park to the northeast. And fear not, the park will still have a clock, although chances are very good it’s going to be replaced with something as handsome, but a lot less troublesome.

Sculptures, additional plantings, a rain garden, and a decorative gateway will make things look pretty.

While plans have been sketched out for both parks, right now the village is only planning to try for a state grant to work on Veterans Park, and focus on Schantz Park some time in the future.

The proposed upgrades come from recommendations provided by a six-member advisory committee comprised of village and local business representatives. Matt Chatfield, Executive Director of the Webster Economic Development Alliance, explained that the public meeting was the next step in the “quick concept phase” of the proposal.

“The grant application is just the first of many steps in this process,” he said. “If the Village is awarded funding, there will be several additional public involvement opportunities prior to any final design and construction.”

Of course this is going to be a long process (anything involving government administration usually is). The grant application isn’t due until the end of July, and we won’t know until December if we’ve been awarded any funds. If so, then there’s an entire year-long park design process. Construction wouldn’t even begin until late 2020.

No other information/comment gathering sessions are planned at this point. However, if you’d like to share your opinions about the planned improvements, you can fill out this form here. (It only asks your thoughts about Veterans Memorial Park because it’s the only one on the table for now.)

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