Park board, Pee Wee are at odds

Portland Park Board and Jay County Pee Wee Football had a verbal agreement to split the cost of concrete upgrades around Hines Inman Memorial Field at Portland Memorial Park.

Jay County Pee Wee Football is now refusing to pay an invoice, saying the work was subpar.

The park board agreed to forward the issue to city hall after discussing the issue with Jay County Pee Wee Football representatives during its meeting Tuesday.

Park board president Brian Ison noted the group had a verbal agreement with park board to pay for half of the cost for converting portions of Hines Inman Memorial Field’s stone surfaces to concrete at Portland Memorial Park. The work was completed by city employees over three years. Jay County Pee Wee Football recently declined to pay the $1,720 invoice for concrete work completed in 2022.

Kaleb Hemmelgarn and Alex Huntsman of Jay County Pee Wee Football attended the meeting, with Hemmelgarn explaining his concern with the quality of work completed in that time period, which included the slab of concrete in front of the concession stand.

“I would challenge anybody to go out there and look at it and say, ‘Would I put that in my front driveway?’ And the reaction is going to be no,” said Hemmelgarn.

He recommended hiring an outside company to do similar work in the future, saying the concrete poured in 2022 likely won’t last for more than a decade. Hemmelgarn presented park board with a few options — leave the space as is and pay for the entire cost or take out the concrete and re-pour it, or take the issue to Portland City Hall. If the work is redone, Jay County Pee Wee Football would pay for half the cost, he said.

Moving forward, Ison recommended park board create written agreements with organizations. The process would include going through Portland City Council, he noted.

Park board member Michael Brewster criticized Jay County Pee Wee Football, saying he has seen the work and although he said he understood the concern, the invoice needs to be paid.

“Pee Wee Football is setting a bad precedent by not upholding their agreement with the park board,” said Brewster.

Ison added that the group uses a city park, and the park board provides supplies, lawn mowing, trash removal and water, among other amenities.

The park board agreed to forward the issue to city hall.

In other business, the board:

•Received two quotes for new playground equipment at Haynes Park. (Shauver suggested replacing the set east of the park’s center pavilion.) Both proposals included two sets of swings, one for infants and one for young adults and older. Board members agreed to review the proposals and make a decision at a later date, with Ison reminding them there are Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dollars available for the parks.

•Decided to look into creating and enforcing a catch-and-release fishing ordinance for Hudson Family Park. Shauver noted individuals have been netting 20 to 30 fish at the park at a time.