By Blake Deshazo
The Selma Times-Journal

The view at Riverfront Park has changed since last week.

The brush and trees that once blocked the view of the Alabama River are no longer there thanks to Mayor George Evans.

“It’s a beautiful sight. It looks good, almost like a different place,” Evans said. “I’m happy about it. I’m real proud of it. I know that those people that walk those trails and sit on those benches will enjoy that.”

The entire bank along the trail was cleared of the overgrowth that was blocking the view for the last few years.

“I’ve heard people complain about it over the years, and since I was leaving office I wanted to complete some things that I had on my list of things to do,” Evans said. “I had some funds in my budget that I could use, so I went ahead and got that riverside cleared up so you can look at the water while you’re sitting on the bench or walking the walking trail.”

There will also be a new addition to the park, the Selma Butterfly Park by the River, which will have playground equipment for children to play on.

“Hopefully in another week or two the playground equipment will be in the park for kids and families to come out and enjoy themselves,” Evans said.

“It brings joy to me because I just wanted to leave behind some things that I think are important to our community in terms of quality of life, and then also hopefully do some things that the new mayor and city council can build on too.”

Evans said he hopes incoming Mayor Darrio Melton and new council members will be able to maintain the park and continue adding to it for years to come.

“What I’m doing is just a small fraction of what can happen. I’ve talked to the council and mayor-elect as far as continuing that, and they’re going to continue to build on that,” Evans said.

“At the end of the day we’ll have a great park down there.”

Evans said a groundbreaking for the playground will be Thursday morning at 10 a.m. at Riverfront Park.