June 7, 2023 at 7:20 p.m.
Courts coming
Jay County Pickleball Players donated $18,160 to have facility constructed at Milton Miller Park
Courts coming
By Bailey Cline-
Portland will be getting two outdoor pickleball courts.
Jay County Pickleball Players recently donated $18,160 to the City of Portland in order to construct two pickleball courts at Milton Miller Park. Portland Park Board OK’d the work, which will be completed by Lemaster Enterprises, at its meeting Tuesday.
Local resident Steve Craig explained he and others with Jay County Pickleball Players approached park board a few years ago requesting it create outdoor pickleball courts. He noted the group has been working on raising funds and looked into companies to complete the project.
Ison explained the group has been in contact with the parks department. The new courts will take up approximately 60 feet by 66 feet at the park on the north side of Portland. The project was identified in the park board’s public survey last year but it hadn’t been considered because of the high cost.
“We don’t have $20,000,” said Ison. “The budget does not have $20,000. We looked at some grants and it’s just very consuming at this time, and we’re not going to be able to secure the funding.”
But the local pickleball group has stepped in to supply the money and get the ball rolling.
“Pickleball is a growing sport,” said Craig, who belongs to a group of at least 50 regular pickleball players in Jay County.
“You’ve got people that play five days a week, five different places, it’s just a day of week that it adds some (new) place they play at,” he added.
Jay County Pickleball Players has already contributed the funds to the city. Ison noted the project will be done in phases, with the pickleball group’s contribution to cover the initial court construction and the parks department to adjust the sidewalk curb and pour a 5-foot-wide sidewalk from the parking lot leading to the courts.
The next phase in the future — specifics and funding have not been determined yet — will be for the parks department to add a fence around the courts.
Park board agreed to accept Jay County Pickleball Players’ $18,160 donation to the city to pass through and pay for construction of the pickleball courts at the park. Any additional costs for the project will be paid for by the group. Buck Lemaster of Lemaster Enterprises said the construction will be completed this summer.
Also Tuesday, park board members Shauna Runkle, Michael Brewster, Brian Ison, John McFarland and Jennifer Weitzel discussed implementing or enforcing — they noted they will need to look into if the matter is covered under city ordinance — stricter rules at Portland Water Park. They talked about instituting a zero-tolerance policy for fighting or bringing in drugs, alcohol or weapons.
The discussion started after the park board OK’d the installation of a 12-foot gate on the west side of the water park between the service room and the pool deck.
Matt Shauver of the street and parks department explained fights have broken out this year in that area. Chairs and towels have also been placed there, he said, making it difficult for employees to get to the service room. It’s currently barricaded to prevent non-staff members from entering the space.
Brewster, who is also Portland’s assistant police chief, asked water park manager Eliza Bader if staff could start doing bag checks at the door. He noted issues the first few weeks requiring police involvement, including an incident with underage drinking. (Those individuals have been banned from the water park for the remainder of the season.)
Bader said additional staff may be needed if checking bags becomes part of their duties.
“We have been slammed lately,” she said, later reporting 112 season passes have been purchased as of Monday. “We have a line out the door for the first half hour trying to just get people in.”
A bag check, Brewster said, may deter visitors from bringing in alcohol, drugs or weapons. Shauver suggested putting up a sign stating the aforementioned items are not allowed at the water park, but he pointed out he’s not sure alcohol is prohibited according to city ordinance. Ison said he would need to check with city attorney Wes Schemenaur about the matter, including the ability to do bag checks.
Runkle proposed they start with signs and look into more aggressive measures if needed.
“I feel like if you’re going to do something like that at a city owned park that’s for recreational purposes, I think you should have a zero-tolerance policy on that stuff,” said Brewster.
Shauver also shared a quote from Gabbard Fence Construction to fence in additional space on the south side of the pool. The cost for an 80-foot by 210-foot fence standing 6 feet tall would be $20,076.90. Ison explained during the board’s park walkthrough, they discussed potential growth at the pool for activities such as more programs, room for parties to bring in food or a place to install a splash pad. He suggested park board seek funding from Portland Redevelopment Commission.
Shauver also noted he recently switched the pool’s treatment system from chlorine tablets to liquid chlorine. He said the chemicals have been balanced since the switch. He said Hawkins, the company the city purchases its chlorine from, estimated a cost savings of $7,342 annually compared to figures two years ago.
In other business relating to the water park, Bader said there is only one rental slot remaining with 17 already booked. (The water park is available for rental on Saturday mornings and evenings only.)
She also noted the water park has sold out several times of different concession items, specifically ice cream. The park board briefly discussed purchasing another freezer for the water park in order to purchase and store a larger stock of frozen items.
Also Tuesday, park board:
•Learned installation of fencing in front of the dugouts at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field by Gabbard Fence Construction has been completed.
•Were informed installation of the gagaball pit at Milton Miller Park will begin Saturday, with US Aggregates donating stone for the project.
•Heard bleachers have been placed on a new concrete base at Portland Memorial Park along with a new sidewalk.
•Decided not to have a meeting in July, noting Independence Day and Jay County Fair as scheduling conflicts. It will meet next at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1.
Jay County Pickleball Players recently donated $18,160 to the City of Portland in order to construct two pickleball courts at Milton Miller Park. Portland Park Board OK’d the work, which will be completed by Lemaster Enterprises, at its meeting Tuesday.
Local resident Steve Craig explained he and others with Jay County Pickleball Players approached park board a few years ago requesting it create outdoor pickleball courts. He noted the group has been working on raising funds and looked into companies to complete the project.
Ison explained the group has been in contact with the parks department. The new courts will take up approximately 60 feet by 66 feet at the park on the north side of Portland. The project was identified in the park board’s public survey last year but it hadn’t been considered because of the high cost.
“We don’t have $20,000,” said Ison. “The budget does not have $20,000. We looked at some grants and it’s just very consuming at this time, and we’re not going to be able to secure the funding.”
But the local pickleball group has stepped in to supply the money and get the ball rolling.
“Pickleball is a growing sport,” said Craig, who belongs to a group of at least 50 regular pickleball players in Jay County.
“You’ve got people that play five days a week, five different places, it’s just a day of week that it adds some (new) place they play at,” he added.
Jay County Pickleball Players has already contributed the funds to the city. Ison noted the project will be done in phases, with the pickleball group’s contribution to cover the initial court construction and the parks department to adjust the sidewalk curb and pour a 5-foot-wide sidewalk from the parking lot leading to the courts.
The next phase in the future — specifics and funding have not been determined yet — will be for the parks department to add a fence around the courts.
Park board agreed to accept Jay County Pickleball Players’ $18,160 donation to the city to pass through and pay for construction of the pickleball courts at the park. Any additional costs for the project will be paid for by the group. Buck Lemaster of Lemaster Enterprises said the construction will be completed this summer.
Also Tuesday, park board members Shauna Runkle, Michael Brewster, Brian Ison, John McFarland and Jennifer Weitzel discussed implementing or enforcing — they noted they will need to look into if the matter is covered under city ordinance — stricter rules at Portland Water Park. They talked about instituting a zero-tolerance policy for fighting or bringing in drugs, alcohol or weapons.
The discussion started after the park board OK’d the installation of a 12-foot gate on the west side of the water park between the service room and the pool deck.
Matt Shauver of the street and parks department explained fights have broken out this year in that area. Chairs and towels have also been placed there, he said, making it difficult for employees to get to the service room. It’s currently barricaded to prevent non-staff members from entering the space.
Brewster, who is also Portland’s assistant police chief, asked water park manager Eliza Bader if staff could start doing bag checks at the door. He noted issues the first few weeks requiring police involvement, including an incident with underage drinking. (Those individuals have been banned from the water park for the remainder of the season.)
Bader said additional staff may be needed if checking bags becomes part of their duties.
“We have been slammed lately,” she said, later reporting 112 season passes have been purchased as of Monday. “We have a line out the door for the first half hour trying to just get people in.”
A bag check, Brewster said, may deter visitors from bringing in alcohol, drugs or weapons. Shauver suggested putting up a sign stating the aforementioned items are not allowed at the water park, but he pointed out he’s not sure alcohol is prohibited according to city ordinance. Ison said he would need to check with city attorney Wes Schemenaur about the matter, including the ability to do bag checks.
Runkle proposed they start with signs and look into more aggressive measures if needed.
“I feel like if you’re going to do something like that at a city owned park that’s for recreational purposes, I think you should have a zero-tolerance policy on that stuff,” said Brewster.
Shauver also shared a quote from Gabbard Fence Construction to fence in additional space on the south side of the pool. The cost for an 80-foot by 210-foot fence standing 6 feet tall would be $20,076.90. Ison explained during the board’s park walkthrough, they discussed potential growth at the pool for activities such as more programs, room for parties to bring in food or a place to install a splash pad. He suggested park board seek funding from Portland Redevelopment Commission.
Shauver also noted he recently switched the pool’s treatment system from chlorine tablets to liquid chlorine. He said the chemicals have been balanced since the switch. He said Hawkins, the company the city purchases its chlorine from, estimated a cost savings of $7,342 annually compared to figures two years ago.
In other business relating to the water park, Bader said there is only one rental slot remaining with 17 already booked. (The water park is available for rental on Saturday mornings and evenings only.)
She also noted the water park has sold out several times of different concession items, specifically ice cream. The park board briefly discussed purchasing another freezer for the water park in order to purchase and store a larger stock of frozen items.
Also Tuesday, park board:
•Learned installation of fencing in front of the dugouts at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field by Gabbard Fence Construction has been completed.
•Were informed installation of the gagaball pit at Milton Miller Park will begin Saturday, with US Aggregates donating stone for the project.
•Heard bleachers have been placed on a new concrete base at Portland Memorial Park along with a new sidewalk.
•Decided not to have a meeting in July, noting Independence Day and Jay County Fair as scheduling conflicts. It will meet next at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1.
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