Since she was 15 years old, Shavonne Lau has always worked for the City of Harper Woods in some manner. Now, she is excited for her new role as recreation director for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“I wanted to see if there was anything new I could bring to the job,” Lau said.
Since starting this new position, Lau has conducted multiple different projects to improve the parks in the area. Her improvements span from resurfacing the basketball courts to adding new benches and picnic tables, while simultaneously extending the walking path at Salter Memorial Park. But, she isn’t fully satisfied yet.
The City of Harper Woods has three main parks: Johnston Park, Salter Memorial Park and Danbury Park. However, Lau has plans to expand the city’s parks in the future.
“We’re also probably planning a pocket park on Roscommon,” Lau said. “We’re hoping eventually to get our own building where we hold classes and possibly either a splash pad or a pool.”
Chris Skerritt, assistant director of parks and recreation in Harper Woods, appreciates the new life, perspective and energy that Lau brings to the city’s parks.
Johnston Park, one of the three main parks in the city, is home to two Little League baseball fields and a softball field. However, the city’s Little League merged with the Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores Little League in early 2019, so the fields have seen minimal action in the past few years.
“I love the city parks, we’ve got great parks, great ball diamonds,” Lau said. “We’re doing baseball again this summer. We don’t hold the [Little League] charter anymore, that’s over in Grosse Pointe Woods, but we are partnering with Eagle Sports, that’s out of Grace Church.”
Lau said she also has plans for smaller updates at the parks, such as permanent cornhole boards, chess picnic tables, new grills and repainting the tennis court at Johnston Park.