Prices reset

Water park rates have been adjusted.

Portland Park Board on Tuesday took another look at the annual pass rates for Portland Water Park, adjusting them from the numbers it approved last month. The board also added a 10-day pass and special rates for senior citizens and veterans.

Park board president Brian Ison explained that when discussing rates last month, the board was looking at numbers from 2020 and ’21. Fees were reduced during those years because of reduced hours at the water park during the coronavirus pandemic and a lifeguard shortage.

Daily admission remains at $5 before 5 p.m. and $3 after 5 p.m., as was approved last month. Children ages 2 and younger will be admitted for $2. Admission will be $3 for senior citizens (62 and older) and veterans (with an ID).

The updated prices for an annual pass for an individual is $75. Passes for immediate families in the same household are $100 for two people, $125 for three, $150 for four, $175 for five and $200 for six or more. Those numbers are generally up $15 — see chart for full comparison — since the water park was last open for a full season in 2019. (Members of Jay County Summer Swim Team — they are all required to purchase a pass — will get a $10 discount.)

The board also added a 10-day pass for $45.

Pool rentals will be available on Saturday mornings and Saturday evenings when the pool is not in use by the summer swim team for a meet. The fee is $75 per hour with a two-hour minimum plus the cost of lifeguards. A minimum of four lifeguards is required.

Board members Shauna Runkler, John McFarland, Michael Brewster and Ison approved the updated rates.

Ison also reported that there are four applicants for the water park manager job. Interviews will begin next week, with the park board then to make a recommendation to Portland Board of Works. Once hired, the water park manager will be in charge of hiring an assistant manager and lifeguards.

Matt Shauver of the city’s street and parks department also reported that work is underway on new restroom doors and dugout roofs at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field. He added that electrical work at the baseball/softball fields at Weiler-Wilson Park is expected to be complete by April 1.

Shauver also expressed concern about incidents of vandalism, noting recent problems with the bridge over the Salamonie River connecting Hudson Family and Weiler-Wilson parks. He advocated for updating security cameras in that area. He added that plans are to pressure wash and seal the bridge deck this year.

The board also heard an update from rural Portland resident Jenny Bricker regarding efforts to save the Indiana 26 (Water Street) over the Salamonie River on the east edge of Portland. She acknowledged that saving the bridge no longer seems possible given the timeline and financial constraints, but that parts of it could be salvaged to create a smaller replica or a sculpture. She and board members discussed several options without settling on a path forward. Bricker said she would pursue acquiring pieces of the bridge for potential future use.

In other business, the board:

•Approved two hours of free swimming from 7 to 9 p.m. June 20 for Jay County Law Enforcement Youth Camp.

•OK’d Shauver to get quotes for roofing on the gazebo on the east side of Hudson Family Park

•Shauver, answering a question from board members, said park restrooms will open when weather allows. He noted that temperatures must be consistently above freezing in order to avoid the risk of frozen pipes.

•Heard from Ison that he hopes to hold a park walk-through next month, with a particular focus on Milton Miller and Hudson Family parks. He asked fellow board members to email him potential dates for that event.