The Park and Recreation Committee have been working on the
renewal/update of their 5-year Comprehensive Improvement Plan which provides
for the development of park improvements.
This plan is reviewed annually but periodically is changed to better
reflect the desires of the committee in terms of what improvements will be
established and when.
The plan proposes a number of things to be accomplished this
year. The most pressing of them is the
completion of the back nine of the Disc Golf Course. Nine holes were established in 2105 and nine
additional holes are proposed for 2016 making it one of the few 18 hole Disc
Golf courses in the area. Also proposed
for the disc golf course is the installation of some benches.
Other things on the list include concrete pads for under the
bleachers at the ball field in City Park.
This will clean things up there but also will deal with some safety
issues when mowing. Two additional
benches will be purchased for installation at the trail head of the
Four-Seasons Trail.
The most expensive project proposed is to move the Fishing
Boardwalk. The plan contemplates a worst
case approach in terms of costs with the conversion of the boardwalk to a
floating dock. It is hoped an alternate solution can be found to move the structure
out over the water without the floats.
This has been requested as fishing cannot be accomplished directly below
the structure. Currently the edge of the
structure has water depths of less than a foot.
Moving the structure out from the edge of the bank has been hampered by
the peat/muck bottom requiring a different solution. It is still hoped that longer poles, a
different location along the channel, or other option can be found to limit the
expense of making this change. This
additional cost of the worst case solution was not without controversy as one
council member voted against the plan because of this issue. That being said all options are on the table
to see if a different, less expensive solution can’t be found.
The plan is a five year plan that contemplates additional
park improvements in the following years.
In the plan there are references to additional park instruments,
extending the paved trail in the city park, and the development of a slightly
smaller ballfield for Little League play.
We look forward to finishing the Disc Golf Course and
getting some of the other park improvements done this year. The Boardwalk changes will take some time to
consider our best option so may not be completed this year but action will
occur to determine how we may proceed.
