ELBERTA — Elberta Town Park is getting a face-lift.

During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Elberta Town Council approved Phase I of a three-phase improvement project to the park, with the first phase not exceeding a cost of $5,000.

That first phase will include the construction of a roof structure that will house picnic tables, the picnic tables themselves and benches.

During the Workshop that preceeded the meeting, Councilman Michael Hudson, who heads the Elberta Recreation and Parks Committee, said he plans to work on the structures, himself. That work will include the building of four 8-foot picnic tables “that will be used 24/7, 365 days a year,” Hudson said.

He added that the benches will provide businesses and residents the opportunity to get involved.

“What I’m going to build is a four-foot wide bench and allow businesses to make a $250 donation and have their name put on it,” Hudson said.

The Council’s action also included the approval of planning for the second phase of the project, which will include relocating the playground equipment currently in the park to one specific corner. During discussion of that phase, Councilman Don Koontz said he’d like the kiddie park to be enclosed in a picket fence with a latch on the gate.

“This way, it’ll keep the kids contained,” he said, explaining that the gate would prevent children attending the park from running into traffic.

The Council discussed the idea that moving the playground equipment to a contained kiddie park area would free up park space for other features.

“One idea is a splash park,” Hudson said, adding that another is the addition of a skate park.

The project comes on the heels of the town’s acquisition of the Sutley lot last week, which is located north of the park.