The Janesville City Council might consider Traxler Park as an alternative to Palmer Park for overnight parking for the homeless.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee recommended the council take a closer look at the second park.
City councilmember Paul Benson sits on the committee and initially brought up the idea Tuesday night.
Parks Director Cullen Slapak says the city’s main concern with Traxler Park was the size of the parking lot and the frequency of special events at the park, including the Rock Aqua Jays shows.
Traxler does have the requisite access to bathrooms, electricity and running water that the city was looking for in a potential overnight parking location.
The eight-person committee was largely split on a 4-4 vote on whether to support using a city park for the proposal, but over an hour of discussion allowed them to reach a majority on adding Traxler Park for the council to consider, among other options.
The proposed ordinance change will be back on the city council agenda for their July 22 meeting.
