Panel wants park action (2/2/05

The Portland Park Board’s citizens advisory committee is ready to see some action.

The 10-member group wants the entryway to the Hudson Family Park to be built, a sign with the name of the park erected and some landscaping done near the park entrance, committee chairman Bob Quadrozzi said at Tuesday’s park board meeting.

“(The committee) feels we need to get something going along with the park,” said Quadrozzi. “It’s a lot easier to raise funds when people see something is going on.”

The more than 34-acre park will be located southeast of Weiler-Wilson Park. The cost to develop the park has been estimated at $3.4 million.

Committee member and superintendent of Jay Schools Barbara Downing has had some of the graphic design students at Jay County High School draft possible designs for the park sign, Quadrozzi said. He plans to take the sign ideas to Display Craft and have the company review the drawings and suggest what materials could be used to build the signs.

The park entrance should be on the west side of the park where the former hatchery building is now, he said. The building is located on South Wayne Street near Union Street.

Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier said he thinks the hatchery building has served its purpose, but it is time to move forward. He said the building should be razed this year. The building and property around it were donated to the city by Hy-Line North American LLC in May.

Also Tuesday, Quadrozzi said the board should again apply for a $1.2 million grant through the Indiana Department of Transportation for the park because the application would be free.

Board president Neil Medler said this morning Indianapolis engineering firm Hannum, Wagle and Cline has twice assisted the board in applying for the INDOT grant. The grant request was turned down both times. Medler said the firm feels obligated to waive another application fee because the other two attempts were unsuccessful.

Hosier said the city plans to help with the funding of the park project and other existing parks in Portland. He expects to have more details on how much the city will be able to contribute at the next park board meeting, which will be held Tuesday, March 1, at 7 p.m. in the Portland Fire Station meeting room.

Another aspect of the park project the board needs to consider is the design of the amphitheater, committee member Eric Rogers said.

He said the structure should be designed by an architectural firm with experience in building amphitheaters. It should also have good acoustics to eliminate the need for electronic amplification, said Rogers.

The Hudson Family Park Amphitheater Task Force, which is made up of Rogers, park board member Sharon Bubp, Craig Adolph, Dean Jetter and Peter Vogler, decided the amphitheater should seat at least 600 people, Rogers said. He said the size of the stage has not yet been decided.

Rogers also said once the amphitheater is complete, someone should be designated to schedule programming. This would prevent the amphitheater from being unused for long periods of time, he said.[[In-content Ad]]