Parks Commission March Meeting
The Parks Commission met this morning and discussed a number of current and future projects. There’s a lot to look forward to! I’ve omitted some details to keep this from getting too long, but feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Blossom
Blossom Time will return to Riverside Park for the long weekend leading up to Memorial Day. There will be some adjustments to the layout to make it work with the Main Street Bridge rehabilitation project, but the changes should be relatively minor and confined to the front of Riverside along the wing wall. I’ll be recommending the event application to council on Monday evening.
Riverside Park Pavilion
Council previously voted to build a new pavilion on the eastern edge of the park. The Village Engineer is putting together some options for us to consider. This project will be in the 2024 budget, with construction likely starting in the second half of the year.
Riverside Park Playground
Demolition of the old playground will start during last week of March. Once complete, new underground drainage and concrete curb will be installed. Gree-deep and the turtle (does he have a name too?) will be relocated for their protection and returned when the new playground is in. Construction will start in April and should take about two weeks. It won’t be usable however until the rubberized surface is poured and cured, the timing of which depends on the weather. A grand opening event is in the works.
Baseball Facilities
Covers will be added to the dugouts and screening installed on the backstop at River Run Park, hopefully before this season starts.
Meanwhile, over at Founders Field, the 20224 budget will include money to replace all fencing (dugout and outfield), cement dugout floors, dugout covers, and some landscaping changes to the area nearest the parking lot.
The Commissioner of Baseball for CAA has asked about the possibility of adding an outfield fence to River Run. The Service Department is going to paint and flag the position of a fence with 190′ left and right foul lines and a 220′ center field fence. Once complete we can visit to get an idea of the impact.
We also discussed the possibility of rehabilitating or removing the scoreboard at Founders, which currently has no power and no remote control. I’ll be reaching out the the manufacturer to get an idea of the cost to get it working again.
Grove Hill Park
Also waiting on 2024 budget approval, at which point the village engineer can assemble a packet to go out to bid this spring. Once a bid is accepted the work can start any time, depending on contractor availability. We’re hoping to have this project complete this year.