Commission considers plans for Henry St. property

Less is more.

This was one Porterville resident’s plea Wednesday night in response to Parks and Leisure Services Commission Chairman Case Lok’s plans to develop city-owned property located at 604 N. Henry St.

The property sits on almost four acres of land, directly north of Murry Park and includes a four-bedroom, two-bath house built in 1949 and a small pond.

The Porterville City Council voted to purchase the property in December of 2010 for $250,000 in hopes that it would be a good addition to Murry Park, according to Parks and Leisure Services Director Milt Stowe.

The eight-member commission was charged with providing the council with recommendations on how to develop the property and met Wednesday night to discuss the matter and to receive public input.

Among Lok’s suggestions: a parking lot, picnic benches on concrete slabs surrounding the pond, a children’s playground, an area for overnight camping, a gazebo and Japanese gardens.

“Less is more,” audience member Mary Ann Rankin said. “I like the serenity, I live there. And I’ve enjoyed it for the past 20 years.”

While Lok presented his ideas via a slideshow presentation, the other commissioners’ comments were brief.  

“Instead of shooting a fly off the wall with a shotgun, why not start out small and not have big Taj Majal ideas,” Commissioner Monte Moore said.   

Commissioner Rocco Calantone agreed with Rankin’s comment.

“I agree. Keep it simple — less is more. It gets a little iffy when you open it up too wide,” he said.

“The most important thing is to make the house adequate for what we’re going to use it for. For a business office or a conference room, that’s adequate.”

Commissioner Richard Rankin suggested they focus on the house and expand from there.
Following is the commission’s recommendation to the council:

- Refurbish the 2,125-square-foot house;

- Create a parking lot on the corner of Putnam Avenue and Henry Street;

- Use the house for civic group meetings or in a manner that generates revenue;

- Have city staff maintain and repair the grounds until more money is available to develop the property;

- Hire a consultant and engineer for the design of a master plan for the property.

The commission’s recommendations will be up for council review on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Contact Denise Madrid at 784-5000, ext. 1047 or dmadrid@portervillerecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @DeniseMadrid_