Summer is here, which means sun-tanned-lotioned children, swim-suited teens and harried parents have embraced the fun to be had at Hoffman Pool in Bellefontaine. But as much as things are going swimmingly down off Allison Road, despite the temperamental weather, it hasn’t gone quite so smoothly behind the scenes.
At least, that was park superintendent Kris Myers’ report to the Bellefontaine Joint Recreation District (BJRD) Board’s regular meeting Tuesday night.
“We’ve had some challenges,” he said, beginning with a $14,000 heater repair. But after three weeks waiting to get the parts and four days rebuilding the heater, Myers continued, “it’s up and running and functioning well.”
Unfortunately, the trouble didn’t stop there. The pool officially opened on Saturday, May 27 … and one hour into the first day, the pump motor on the water slide burned up.
Joe Jackson, city electrician, took the part to a company in Dayton, where the cost to get it working will come to $3,700. Myers anticipates getting the slide going again by early next week, at the latest.
“It looks good,” Myers said regarding the pool overall. “But it’s getting old and falling apart.” And though they’re doing what they can to keep it running, he knows a more long-term solution will eventually be needed.
The rest of the superintendent’s report included:
• An update on the summer sports programs, which, according to Myers, has kept them busy since it got going a couple weeks ago. He’s heard positive feedback from at least one parent of a fifth-grade baseball player who was placed on a third/fourth-grade team. “That’s one thing I was concerned about,” he said, “but it’s working out really well.”
• June 17 to 19, the department will host the Chieftain Classic Baseball Tournament at Lewis Ratleff and Blue Jacket parks. Tim Hales, recreation coordinator, said they have 26 teams coming from all across the state for the event.
• Registration will close on adaptive youth softball, which is for children with physical or mental disabilities, on June 11.
• Up next, the parks department is looking forward to soccer and youth football seasons, with the latter closing registration on July 9 and starting tryouts the week of July 10. They’re holding back on the new flag football program, which will be for children entering third through sixth grades, until August. The registration for flag football is July 31.
• Myers expressed appreciation for the parks department maintenance team. “I’m really happy about how things look right now when I drive around and see our facilities,” he said. “The kids (we hired) this summer are doing a good job staying on top of things.”
• They’re planning to update the benches at Southview Park, which are over 20 years old. Since the frames are still good, they’ll just redo the wood, then put them on concrete pads to fix the weed problem.
• An application has been made for a Bureau of Worker’s Compensation (BWC) grant to purchase a field painting machine. The BWC recently sent an ergonomist to watch the work that goes into painting a sports field. Once the BWC receives his feedback, they should be able to move forward.
• The department held an invasive removal and tree work day at Camp Myeerah on May 23. Myers said they were able to “make a dent on the prairies and along some trails.” They’ll hold another similar work day in the fall.
• After two years of ordering a new department vehicle only to have the purchase canceled twice, Myers decided to take a more direct route. As a result, they now have a 2017 vehicle with 60,000 miles, which they purchased for $29,000.
• A discussion over adding a portable toilet near Rutan Park led to a discussion of the feasibility of the idea. Myers suggested pouring a concrete slab and anchoring the facility to that.
• Regarding the Master Plan, which was presented at the May monthly meeting, Myers said the response from the city council was positive. Next, he planned to meet with the steering committee Wednesday, June 7, to get feedback from the public side before moving forward.
• The board also discussed adding closed-circuit cameras around the parks. According to Myers, efforts are underway to install some outside the restrooms at Rutan Park, but there are several issues, specifically, the cost, a structure to attach them to and a power source.
“We’re not in a funding position right now to do that,” Myers explained. “But we’d love to prevent some of the issues we’ve had.”
• In response, board member Joliece Reed expressed concern regarding cars racing around the shelters at Rutan Park. She’s observed the same car almost hit children riding bikes and endangering people playing disc golf. This is happening in the early evening, Reed added, between 4 and 8 p.m., so there are people enjoying the park at that time. Myers said he would talk with Chris Marlow, Bellefontaine’s new police chief, about the matter.
• Efforts are also underway to mend the fence at Harmon Field along Troy Road by adding rubber to strengthen it.
The next BJRD board meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 1, as they don’t conduct a regular meeting in July.