Park board approves new 5-year plan

Portland Park board approved a new five-year plan for the city’s park system at its meeting Tuesday.
The 109-page plan, created by a volunteer committee led by Donald Gillespie and John Moore, was developed using 360 survey responses from residents, a major increase in responses from 2011’s number, 83.
Moore said the major initiatives of the new plan include continuing the success of the 20 programs hosted at the park, creating universal vetting and ethics requirements for adult volunteers and sprucing up the appearance of the parks.
The board praised the size and popularity of the many programs hosted at the parks, and Moore said continuing that success would be a priority.
The parks’ programs include Portland Junior League baseball and softball, Arts in the Park, outdoor concerts and events, Jay County Pee Wee Football, Portland Rockets baseball and a variety of other activities.
He also said that since many of the programs were created at different times, some have different ethics standards and vetting processes for adult volunteers.Moore recommended that a universal process be created to streamline the process and eliminate confusion.
The planning committee also recommended creating a “Friends of” the parks group that could help pick up trash and perform upkeep.
“We want to continue the wonderful success stories that are already in place,” Moore said. “We could maybe lavish some additional attention on the other parks.”
More than 3,000 children participate in the different programs at Portland’s parks, though Moore noted that a child who participated in multiple programs would be counted multiple times in that total.
“You hear all these stories (that) all the kids are at home, you know, couch potatoes playing their video games, not doing anything,” Moore said. “But there are a lot of kids out there.”
In addition to the children, there are more than 450 adult volunteers who keep all the programs running.
In 2011 and 2006, Portland’s five-year park plan was developed by Schneider Corporation. This year, a committee of Portland residents created the plan, basing it off of a template provided by the state. Because of the committee’s work, the city’s taxpayers didn’t pay a dime to develop the plan.
Board members Rod Ashman, Chris Compton, Kristi Betts and Shauna Runkle approved the new five-year plan, which will be forwarded to state officials for approval. Mayor Randy Geesaman also provided a short update on improvements at the city’s water park. R.L. Turner is still working to level the bathroom floor out, and work should be completed near the end of the year, Geesaman said.