July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Hudson Park in new phase
Portland Park Board
The next phase of Hudson Family Park is set to begin later this month.
Bids for phase 3 of the park project are will be opened at Thursday morning's board of works meeting, the city's mayor announced at Tuesday's Portland Park Board meeting.
Bruce Hosier also announced Tuesday that construction on phase 3 is scheduled to begin Sept. 21. This phase includes the creation of the pond and amphitheater, earthwork, extension of the trail system and additional parking. Total cost has been estimated at $400,000. Hosier said several contractors are interested in the project and were given a Sept. 21 deadline for work to begin.
Hosier told members of the park board that the city has funds available to pay for the next phase. He said about $20,000 in private donations have been made for the park project. Hosier said after the meeting that he didn't know exactly which funds the city money would come from.
"This has been a long time coming," said street and park department superintendent Jeff Harker. "I'm excited to see it becoming a reality."
Hosier said that he plans to release information about how phase 4 of the project will be funded at the October park board meeting.
Barry and Elizabeth Hudson gave the land for the park project to the city in the summer of 2000 and said the city had 10 years to have the pond and amphitheater in place. The park project has gained momentum in the past several years.
In other business Tuesday, board members voted to accept a donation of land by the Jay School Corporation. The Portland City Council also will have to vote on the matter.
The landlocked wooded area is located south of East Elementary School, on the south side of the Salamonie River. A trail that runs through this area recently was renovated by Aaron Hudson, who worked on it as part of an Eagle Scout project.
Hudson told the park board Tuesday that he cut down the tall grass on the path and removed debris. He also created signs and labeled 24 different species of trees, marked off the trail with string and made two maps of the trail and posted them.
This trail has been used by the Jay School Corporation's cross country teams for several years. The trail is an extension of the nature trail, which is part of Hudson Family Park.
"It's good to see the youth in our community getting involved in these type of projects," Hosier said.
"This is a perfect fit for the park," board member Kent McClung said.
Also Tuesday, park board members:
•Learned that for the first time in several years, the Portland Pool lost money.
Pool manager Rachel McKee said attendance, the number of season passes sold and concession stand sales were all down this year.
She said the pool lost about $4,400 this summer. Attendance this year was 7,046, compared to 8,771 in 2008.
McKee said the cooler weather likely caused the drop in attendance. Because attendance has been so poor, the pool will not be open this weekend for Labor Day, as previously planned.[[In-content Ad]]
Bids for phase 3 of the park project are will be opened at Thursday morning's board of works meeting, the city's mayor announced at Tuesday's Portland Park Board meeting.
Bruce Hosier also announced Tuesday that construction on phase 3 is scheduled to begin Sept. 21. This phase includes the creation of the pond and amphitheater, earthwork, extension of the trail system and additional parking. Total cost has been estimated at $400,000. Hosier said several contractors are interested in the project and were given a Sept. 21 deadline for work to begin.
Hosier told members of the park board that the city has funds available to pay for the next phase. He said about $20,000 in private donations have been made for the park project. Hosier said after the meeting that he didn't know exactly which funds the city money would come from.
"This has been a long time coming," said street and park department superintendent Jeff Harker. "I'm excited to see it becoming a reality."
Hosier said that he plans to release information about how phase 4 of the project will be funded at the October park board meeting.
Barry and Elizabeth Hudson gave the land for the park project to the city in the summer of 2000 and said the city had 10 years to have the pond and amphitheater in place. The park project has gained momentum in the past several years.
In other business Tuesday, board members voted to accept a donation of land by the Jay School Corporation. The Portland City Council also will have to vote on the matter.
The landlocked wooded area is located south of East Elementary School, on the south side of the Salamonie River. A trail that runs through this area recently was renovated by Aaron Hudson, who worked on it as part of an Eagle Scout project.
Hudson told the park board Tuesday that he cut down the tall grass on the path and removed debris. He also created signs and labeled 24 different species of trees, marked off the trail with string and made two maps of the trail and posted them.
This trail has been used by the Jay School Corporation's cross country teams for several years. The trail is an extension of the nature trail, which is part of Hudson Family Park.
"It's good to see the youth in our community getting involved in these type of projects," Hosier said.
"This is a perfect fit for the park," board member Kent McClung said.
Also Tuesday, park board members:
•Learned that for the first time in several years, the Portland Pool lost money.
Pool manager Rachel McKee said attendance, the number of season passes sold and concession stand sales were all down this year.
She said the pool lost about $4,400 this summer. Attendance this year was 7,046, compared to 8,771 in 2008.
McKee said the cooler weather likely caused the drop in attendance. Because attendance has been so poor, the pool will not be open this weekend for Labor Day, as previously planned.[[In-content Ad]]
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