Park survey is open

The park board is ready for input.

Portland Park Board on Tuesday unveiled its community park survey that is part of the process of creating a new five year master plan for the city’s parks.

The survey is open to anyone who uses the city’s parks and includes questions about the most popular park activities and how frequently parks are used. It also offers respondents the opportunity to suggest ideas for improving the parks.

Surveys can be filled out online at bit.ly/parksurvey21 or via the city’s website at thecityofportland.net. Paper copies are available at city hall. (Information about the surveys will also be distributed with water bills.) It will remain open until Aug. 27.

Once the survey period is complete, park board members will review the data and schedule a public forum to discuss the results.

The survey is a required step in the process of creating the city’s five-year community park master plan, which must be turned in to Indiana Department of Natural Resources for approval. Park board’s schedule calls for having a draft of the plan complete by September, with final approval to come in December.

Park board members Shauna Runkle, Brian Ison, Giles Laux and Glen Bryant, absent Chris Compton, also heard an update from Portland Water Park manager Missy Bader. She informed the board that the facility is open as much as possible but that a shortage of lifeguards is still limiting hours. (The water park was open from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays this week.)

Bader said she will continue to update hours as needed via the water park’s Facebook page.

The board also discussed water park maintenance issues regarding tiles and windows.

It approved $2,600 to replace windows in the water park restrooms. The new windows are intended to improve ventilation and prevent mold.

Members were also informed that the contractor responsible has been contacted about pool tiles that are loose and/or have fallen off.

Also Tuesday, the board heard from several area residents advocating for new or improved facilities for the city’s parks.

Steve Craig made his second visit to the park board to request that pickleball courts be added at a city park.

Craig, who made the same request at the board’s June meeting, had met with street and parks department employees to determine whether there is a current site that could serve as temporary courts. They concluded that the best current location is the basketball courts at Haynes Park, but that there are a few dips in the surface that could make play difficult.

Park board members encouraged Craig to get estimates for the types of courts he and other pickleball players would like to have in the parks so that details can be included in the five-year master plan.

Portland Rockets manager Randy Miller and Randy Fisher of the team’s fundraising committee requested a new or renovated restroom and concession facility at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field. In his presentation, Fisher said the restrooms are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that concession and storage facilities are general insufficient to meet needs.

Like Craig, board members asked Fisher and Miller to work on more detailed plans of what they want and estimates for what a new or upgraded building would cost.

In the meantime, the board agreed to split the cost — up to $6,000 — on a new storage building for the field and to see if a short-term fix can be implemented to make the concession stand more functional.

For both the pickleball courts and the Rockets, board members cautioned that funding for the parks is limited and that it would take time to make any potential improvements.

In other business, the board, the board:

•Thanked The Portland Foundation for the $10,000 grant it provided for the installation of disc golf equipment at Hudson Family Park.

•Approved returning a $100 deposit to Jay County Wrestling Club for rental of the Hudson Family Park amphitheater. The club was unable to use the facility on the assigned day because of inclement weather.