Portland Water Park was one of the local facilities that was greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Attendance was down significantly in 2020 as the park’s opening was delayed until July 4 because of various coronavirus restrictions. (Attendance was also down this year as park hours were limited because of a shortage of lifeguards.) (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)
Portland Water Park was one of the local facilities that was greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Attendance was down significantly in 2020 as the park’s opening was delayed until July 4 because of various coronavirus restrictions. (Attendance was also down this year as park hours were limited because of a shortage of lifeguards.) (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)
The draft is done.

Approval is expected in December.

Portland Park Department Board member Brian Ison shared the draft of the city’s five-year park plan for 2022 through 2026 at Tuesday’s meeting.

(The board could not vote on any issues because of a lack of a quorum. Shauna Runkle was the only board member other than Ison who was in attendance.)

Ison mostly reviewed the areas of the park plan that have been changed or updated from the 2017-21 plan that expires at the end of December. The biggest notes in that area involved the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan points out the various ways the pandemic had an impact on local parks, including restrictions that had to be put in place for the facilities themselves and the various groups that use them for activities. It also resulted in lower attendance at Portland Water Park.

It also lists some of the challenges with local parks, including aging playground equipment at Haynes Park, time-consuming maintenance at Hudson Family Park, under-utilized space at Milton Miller Park and costly maintenance issues at Portland Water Park.

The plan notes improvements made to the parks over the last five years, including roof work at the amphitheater, new sidewalks at the Hines-Inman Field at Portland Memorial Park and at Weiler-Wilson Park, and new metal roofs on shelter houses.

Additionally, it provides statistics, showing that between 1,800 and 2,500 participants are involved in various activities — sports, Arts in the Parks, camps — each year.

The 136-page document includes budget details as well, showing the overall parks budget has increased from $268,860 in 2016 to $371,395 this year. (The department’s capital projects budget, however, has dropped from $60,000 in 2016 to $35,000 each of the last two years.)

The park board is expected to vote on approval of the plan at its Dec. 7 meeting. The plan will then be turned in to Indiana Department of Natural Resources for its review.

Ison also noted he has approached both Portland Mayor John Boggs and Jay County Commissioner Chad Aker about the possibility of directing some of the city and/or county federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to the parks. He noted the commissioners agreed to commit $85,000 to improvements at Dunkirk City Pool. (That funding is pending approval by Jay County Council.)

Ison and Runkle, absent Chris Compton, Glen Bryant and Giles Laux, also heard various park updates from Matt Shauver of the parks department.

He noted that replacement of tile at Portland Water Park could be “a big ordeal.” The five-year-old facility has had issues with tile falling off of its walls.

Blakley’s of Indianapolis is in the process of working on one of the walls to give the parks department a look at its work ahead of a decision as to whether to replace all of the tile.

Shauver said it’s likely the entirety of the tile on the island in the lazy river will need to be replaced.

He added he will continue to give the park board updates as they become available.

Shauver also noted plans to have current flooring removed from the Hudson Family Park bathrooms in favor of sealed concrete floors at a cost of about $2,400.

The parks department also plans to use the remainder of its capital projects budget for the year to add guard rails on the west side of Haynes Park as part of an ongoing project. (Park board had previously approved that plan.)

The city also plans to have the Christmas decorations that have typically been set up at Hudson Family Park instead be used at Jay County Fairgrounds as part of Cruis’n the HoliJay Lights at the Fairgrounds.
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