The regular meeting of the Bellefontaine Joint Recreation District (BJRD) Board of Trustees had barely started on Tuesday, March 5, when trustee Tammy Fowler shared a recent email she’d received. It came from a resident who’d encountered vulgar language at Rutan Park, which included inappropriate words aimed at a little girl.
Board president Pat Ellis had also read the communication and called the report “very disturbing.”
When that happens, Kris Myers, parks superintendent, said, “Don’t hesitate. Call PD.” He added, “That is not acceptable behavior in a civilized society.”
Trustee Keyne Strickland suggested the board put up signs encouraging park visitors to contact the police department in such situations.
Fowler added, “I hate to see it start so early.”
Myers agreed to look into signage, then stated, “The sooner we respond the sooner it stops. But it has to be a community effort.”
On a more positive note, Myers spoke about a meeting he had with Mike and Dede Doss, who have offered to take over the parks’ adaptive programming, which until now has been limited to bowling and softball. The couple have been lead volunteers for adaptive bowling ever since they brought back the sport after the lockdown.
Now they want to add to it. The BJRD will work with them on setting up activities like a hike at Myeerah and bike riding.
In other board news:
- Jessica Jenkins was named the BJRD’s 2023 Volunteer of the Year. Jenkins has coached soccer, basketball and softball and has served on both youth soccer and youth basketball boards. She’s also volunteered on the Yes 4 Parks campaign committee.“It’s been such a pleasure working with you,” Myers told her. “Thank you for all your time and dedication.” They convinced her to attend the meeting under the pretext of talking about changes in the soccer program.
- Since Jenkins had done the report, she updated the board on the ups and downs of switching soccer divisions from grade-based to age-based. This follows national standards and, she said, is better for helping develop skills.The only negative feedback came from the decision to use a smaller 4-by-6 goal and, as a result, no goalies in the U7 division, which is children ages 5 to 7.“With the goal so small it’s hard to score,” Jenkins said, “and it helps players work on foot skills.”Jenkins finished by mentioning the great soccer refs they have this year and their efforts to mentor sixth- and seventh-graders for that kind of field experience.
- In the superintendent report, Myers said registrations have been open but some are already completed, like the run club, which closed registration on March 6. “If you have any trouble registering, give us a call,” Tim Hales, recreation coordinator, said. “We’re happy to help.”Go to bellefontaineoh.myrec.com to find out more about spring, summer and fall sports registration.
- Ten applicants were interviewed to fill the cemetery and park maintenance supervisor job that will be open when Jon Mathys retires this summer. They narrowed that down to three people and, Myers said, they hope to make an offer to one by the end of the week.
- The department had enough money to replace the foul ball fences at Blue Jacket Park and are now working on updating windscreens on the outfield fences.
- Logan County Land Trust has offered $10,000 and the parks department has another $22,000 to fix the log cabin at Myeerah Nature Preserve. The money would go toward log work and roof repair. Ellis asked to table the discussion until they could get more information, so they’ll address it in April.
- Efforts to hire seasonal staff are moving forward, with a decent number of lifeguards returning to Hoffman Pool this summer, though they have room for more. Other maintenance and mower positions have been fully staffed, and they’re putting together a pool management team.The slide structure still needs attention, and Myers is concerned about the loss of water in the pool over the winter. They will assess if that’s a bigger issue but, he admitted, it’s one of the problems related to having an older pool.
- With the total eclipse of the sun only a month away, Myers told the board they’re preparing to have large crowds at the area parks. They don’t plan to change anything, but will have staff on-hand and ask people to be respectful of the grounds. Restrooms will be open.
- “What’s most important is getting the levy passed,” Ellis concluded. A town hall meeting took place March 6 to discuss the issue, which will be on the March 19 ballot.
The next BJRD board of trustees meeting will take place a week later due to spring break and will be held at a different location: 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at Myeerah Nature Preserve.
The Bellefontaine Joint Recreation District Board of Trustees and Kris Myers, parks superintendent, surprised Jessica Jenkins when they named her 2023 Volunteer of the Year at their regular meeting Tuesday. (EXAMINER PHOTO | SHARYN KOPF)