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New Castle County parks division outlines tree plantings, Southern Park buildout and Prest Park demolition plans
Summary
Parks staff described a large reforestation at Wiggins Mill (11,000 saplings planted), ongoing infrastructure and maintenance planning for Southern Park, and plans to demolish most farm buildings at Prest (Red Lion) property after historic reviews and structural evaluations; council members raised maintenance, signage and funding concerns.
Kendall Summers, parks division manager, gave a multi‑part update: at Wiggins Mill Park the county and the Department of Agriculture planted roughly 11,000 small saplings in 2023 and about 150 trees in 2024; Summers said the plantings used small "whips" and were overplanted to account for attrition and that staff will run another volunteer planting around Earth Day 2025 to expand the forest buffer around the pond.
"We were able to plant 11,000 trees," Summers said, noting the plants were small and that volunteers helped flag rows to protect young trees from mowing. Summers said the project is supported by a reimbursable grant coordinated with DNREC and the Department of Agriculture supplied trees and labor assistance.
On Southern Park, Summers described infrastructure work to bring electric and water to the site, construction of a maintenance base to service parks south of the C & D Canal, and a planned extension of the park's walking path to create a full loop suitable for 5K events; additional parking and pavilion or picnic rental facilities are planned once utilities and the maintenance base are in place.
Discussing the Prest Park (Red Lion) property, Summers said multiple historic and structural reviews (including work with the University of Delaware Center for Historical and Architectural Design) found the farm buildings beyond repair and estimated restoration costs between $1.3 million and $2.0 million. "It recommended demolition of all of these buildings," Summers said; staff plan to seek bids to demolish all structures except the Spring House, bring the property to grade for safety, and then start concept planning with public input.
Multiple council members pressed staff on maintenance capacity, signage for Glasgow Park, the limits of relying on volunteers, and the adequacy of impact fees for capital needs. Staff said vacancies have been filled this year but could not provide exact hiring numbers on the spot and will return with detailed staffing and cost information. Council members urged that a clear budget and plan—complete with price tags—be provided before expanding maintenance responsibilities or shifting costs to volunteers or impact fees.
Summers said staff will circulate proposed schedules and coordinate volunteer events and signage plans with council offices as they finalize details.
