Rockets will get new scoreboard

The Portland Rockets will be getting a new scoreboard for the upcoming season.

The team is donating $13,461 to Portland Park Board to be used to purchase a new electronic scoreboard at Runkle-Miller Field at Portland Memorial Park. The board voted to cover the cost of installation.

Board members also discussed the pricing for admission at Portland Water Park, heard a proposal to rename the horseshoe pits at Judge Haynes Park and considered a proposal to add disc golf equipment to Hudson Family Park.

Nick Miller, representing the Portland Rockets, presented park board a proposal that would fund the purchase and delivery of a new electronic scoreboard, provided the park board fund the installation costs. The current electronic scoreboard was first put up in 1986, and its age has made finding replacement parts difficult.

The new scoreboard, from Varsity Scoreboards, will be 28 feet long by eight feet high, and will feature improved functions and more information than the current scoreboard. The park board voted to approve installation costs up to $6,000, asking parks and streets superintendent Ryan Myers to get estimates for the cost of installation and proceed. The $13,461 for the purchase of the board was donated to the city from the team, and was funded through donations from Crossroads Financial, Bank of Berne, Portland Eagles, an anonymous donor and other community businesses and organizations.

Board members Rod Ashman, Kristi Betts, Chris Compton and Shauna Runkle, absent Giles Laux, also discussed pricing for the Portland Water Park this year.

Standard admission will stay at $4 between the hours of noon and 5 p.m., but those who enter the water park after 5 p.m. will only have to pay $3. Rentals will only be available on Saturdays, and can be reserved starting on the water park’s opening day, May 27. Admission for children younger than 2 will now cost $2, and there will be a $1 discount for seniors 62 years or older.

The water park will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Myers said that because of low attendance after school started last year, the water park will only be open on the weekends after school starts up again in August.

Jim Sanders presented an idea to the board to install a new sign naming the horseshoe pits at Judge Haynes Park. He suggested the pits honor Sue Gillespie, who won the world championship horseshoe title three times, first at the age of 15 in 1962, and then twice more in 1964 and 1965. The board asked that Sanders get together with Myers to brainstorm sign ideas and estimate costs of installing a sign near the horseshoe pits.

Park board also heard a proposal to add disc golf equipment to Hudson Family Park and utilize currently unused or underused areas of the park. Breton Ressler and Teejay Shinkaruk suggested that the board consider adding an 18-hole course throughout the park, including in the wooded area. Shinkaruk, who installs disc golf equipment, estimated the cost would be about $20,000, or could be higher if the board wanted to add additional features. The board tabled a decision on the proposal, citing a need for additional information about demand for the game in Portland.

In other business, park board:

•Heard a request from Kyle Cook, executive director of the Jay Community Center, that the water park provide a bulk discount for the Jay Community Center Summer Daycamp. Board members informed Cook of the already existing 10-day pass for $30, which would lower the cost of each visit to $3 per camper.

•Voted to have Myers get quotes for a planned remodel of the bathrooms at Runkle-Miller Field.