A day in the park

Parks supervisor is passionate about Moses Lake's parks system

MOSES LAKE — Roland Gonzales will be the first to tell you that it is the community and maintenance staff that have made the City of Moses Lake's parks system a thriving one.

The parks superintendent's job usually begins with a request from city leaders, or a phone call from a concerned citizen with an idea about an addition to the city's parks system.

"The parks are really the highlight of our community, and we're taking that challenge on, and hope the community gets behind us," Gonzales said.

That was the case when Christi Dieringer came to the city about building a playground accessible to all children, including her 5-year-old daughter Ashley. Christi Dieringer said she just wanted to have a playground that would allow children with normal abilities to play with those with limited abilities in the same place.

After talking with the Dieringers, Gonzales began talking with playground manufacturers about ideas to build a playground accessible to all kids. With funds from the Noon Rotary of Moses Lake and others, the playground became a reality, and was officially named after Ashley last week.

Projects like Ashley's Playground and the recently opened Japanese Peace Garden have made the Moses Lake parks system a unique one. City plans for the BMX track and an Olympic ice rink are also in the works. Those parks and the maintenance of upkeep have made the city parks system a lure for both residents and visitors.

"We maintain these facilities really well," Gonzales said, "and people see it, and want to be a part of it."

Gonzales, who started out with the parks department as a temporary maintenance worker himself, points to the hard work of the maintenance staff who he said make city projects a reality. Their pride and efficiency, Gonzales said, has brought high standard to keep those parks well manicured every day.

"He expects that high standard," maintenance staffer Don Garrett said of Gonzales, "and he expects it of himself."

If staffers have ideas about a specific project, Garrett said they are always able to bring them to the table, and Garrett said Gonzales is always encouraging and supportive with those ideas. On the Japanese garden project, Garrett suggested a red Torii gate to stand at the entrance to the garden based on his experience living in Japan, and city employees built it.

Garrett worked in the Washington state park system before switching to the Moses Lake system six years ago. He said that the City of Moses Lake has realized potential in its parks system and that it has brought the community to those parks while also drawing people from out of the area.

"Moses Lake puts a real premium on its parks," Garrett said, "that does wonders for the quality of life locally."

But the icing on the cake has been the Japanese Peace Garden. Concepts for a project began with the Japanese Garden Committee in the mid-1980s. Gonzales began his work on the project in 1999, when he was asked to come up with a conceptual drawing for the garden.

The concept was one Gonzales admittedly had no prior experience with. But, he did some studying and came up with a preliminary design. Little by little, the many groups including the garden committee and representatives from Japan Airlines worked together with a handful of parks staff to massage their plan into the Japanese Peace Garden it is today.

During design and construction of the garden, Gonzales said numerous people brought their experiences about what elements should be included in the garden. Since that garden opened, the garden has not only been a place for locals, but for those with a Japanese heritage to come to remind them of home.

"I think my biggest enjoyment regarding the Japanese garden," Gonzales said, "the Japanese people that live here locally, they can go to the garden and remembrance their homeland."

Gonzales has carried over pieces of the Japanese garden to his work and personal life as well. A fish tank in his office has three rocks positioned in an asymmetrical pattern to create a balance, similar to those in the Japanese Garden. And at home Gonzales does garden, and enjoys the trees, grass and shrubs of his home.

Gonzales became interested in working in the parks department as a high school baseball player, and started working for the department soon after.

"I was lucky enough to get a job here with the city at a young age, 19," Gonzales said.

On his first day he went from spraying chemicals in the morning to turning the lights off that night. A year later he was able to apply, and got a full-time job working for the city. He has since worked with people like Stan Skinner, and continues to work with people with diverse backgrounds who has said make the park system a success. He has been the park's maintenance supervisor since 1998.

And for the man who began using the parks system as an athlete growing up, he has returned as a coach, of his kids' 12-year-old Titans soccer team. And he said also that the work he does couldn't be done without his friends, stability from his wife and family, and the work ethic he was brought up with from his parents.

"There's a lot of support all over the place," Gonzales said.

The high standard of upkeep has given city crews a great deal of pride in their parks, which Garrett said is brought out when Gonzales and maintenance staffers coach their kids, or check in on parks on their days off.

"This community is his life," Garrett said of Gonzales, "and he really puts a lot of life into his job."