“Hopefully we can get a lot of responses, that way we can make sure we meet the wants and needs of the people in our community,” said Town Council Member Natalie Newman.

The town is conducting an online survey to garner input from the public. The survey is brief, just five questions, centered on what equipment people would most like to see at the park and can be found on the town’s website.

“Citizens will be able to go to the [town’s] website to find the Bryson Park survey and this is basically to give the board some ideas of what the community wants to see at Bryson Park,” said Newman.

Back in 2022, the town received $3 million from the State Capital Infrastructure Fund, direct appropriations in the state budget, for “Town of Sylva Playground Equipment.” This allowed the town to expand the scope of work for the Allen Street repair project to include improvements to Bryson Park.

“I’m super excited about this because I think when it’s done it’s going to be the nicest park in Sylva,” said Newman.

The survey will be live until Feb. 8, which is also the date that the town will hold a public hearing on the Bryson Park project. Input from both the survey and the public hearing will be taken into consideration when the town decides how to move forward with park renovations.

“I would love to see some handicapped accessible equipment as well,” Newman said.