Bike share is approved

Portland is one step closer to having a bicycle-sharing program. 

Portland Park Board gave permission for bicycle racks for the program to be installed at city parks at its meeting Tuesday.

It also heard an update on Portland Water Park’s admission numbers and revenue.

Barry Hudson, managing partner of Beam LLC, came before the board to request permission to install bicycle racks at Hudson Family Park and Haynes Park. 

Beam LLC, a group of local investors, is planning to purchase 10 bicycles and have them available for free use throughout Portland. The city will not be liable or responsible for the bicycles, as Beam will have insurance coverage for them and will repair and store them as needed. 

The bikes will have baskets and child seats attached, will be engraved and will have a tracking chip installed. Having bicycles will help quality of life in the area, Hudson said, and is one of the goals of Portland’s revitalization plan.

“Really when you go to a lot of cities, if you have bikes and bike trails, that means it’s a nice city to live in,” Hudson said. 

The board gave the company permission to place the bicycle racks at the parks. Beam also plans to place a bike rack at Jay Community Center. 

After the meeting, Hudson said he wasn’t sure when the bikes will be rolled out, but the project has been in development for two years. 

Also Tuesday, the board heard an update on Portland Water Park. 

Compared to the same date last year, the pool has had more visitors and more revenue, pool manager Missy Bader said. As of Aug. 5, the pool has had 21,794 visitors and made $131,816.08; by the same day last year, it had 21,419 visitors and had made $118,815.03. 

The board had upped the single-day admission price by $1 this year in the hopes of balancing the pool’s budget. 

Bader also told the board the pool will be open on weekends only starting Saturday.  The hours each day will be noon to 5 p.m. and admission will be $4, discounted to $3 after 3 p.m. 

In other business, board members Shauna Runkle, Chris Compton and Giles Laux, absent Rod Ashman: 

•Heard that Jay County Trails Club and the city have received a $168,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to create a trail from River Path that will head east behind the Portland Junior League baseball diamonds, Portland Water Park and East Elementary School, ending at Jay-Randolph Developmental Service’s fitness loop. An additional $217,000 grant that Jay County received from DNR’s Next Level Trails program will count toward the $42,000 match required. 

•Heard that Goodhew Roofing & Metals is planning to install the new roof for the Hudson Family Park amphitheatre in the fall. Also, owner John Goodhew has donated and installed a metal roof for the shelter at Weiler-Wilson Park and plans to donate more roofs to other park structures in the future. 

•Learned that park manager Matt Shauver plans to purchase more security cameras for the parks next year. He’s dealt with a few vandalism cases this summer at Hudson Family Park and Haynes Park. 

•Heard from Geesaman that with a recent $1,500 donation from Walmart, the city has collected almost half of the funds it needs to clean up the nature trails at Hudson Family Park. Geesaman said the city could likely pay the other half of the cost. The trails have been closed since last fall because of downed trees.

•Gave Gloria Green, the pool’s water aerobics teacher, a raise. She had been making $6 an hour but came before the board to request more money for her time. The board approved a new hourly rate of $8.50 an hour beginning Aug. 1. 

•Based on discussion around Green’s raise, the board also agreed to take a look at the hourly wages of all summer employees in the parks department and at the pool once the season is over.  

•Gave permission for Jay County High School’s cross country teams to use Hudson Family Park for a meet Sept. 14. The park will be closed to the public from 7 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m. that day.