Social concept

A preliminary idea for what to do with the downtown lot where the Bailey Building previously stood was presented Tuesday.

Portland Park Board gave informal initial support to an idea for the property at the southwest corner of Commerce and Main streets in Portland during its regular meeting.

The board also approved a couple of projects for Haynes Park for 2025.

The Bailey Building that once stood at 201 through 205 W. Main St. was demolished in late 2023. It had been in a state of disrepair for years before it was removed.

The remaining empty lot has been discussed as a possible event space in the downtown area and a committee was formed to look at options for the property. Park board president Brian Ison serves on that committee along with multiple members of Portland Main Street Connect and others. He presented a preliminary idea for the property at Tuesday’s meeting.

He referred to the concept as a “social park” that could include a fire pit, cornhole courts, lighting, vegetation and open space. A restroom was also considered but is not part of the initial plan.

Ison explained that the goal was to provide a venue that would be positive for local businesses, enhance existing events such as car shows and the Main Street festivals and bring in new events. (It would be set up with some lighting and electrical infrastructure to support such activities.) It could also be a lunch spot for downtown workers and a possible site for a farmers’ market.

Another goal was to not add too much to the parks department workload, which already includes Hudson Family Park, Haynes Park, Weiler-Wilson Park, Milton Miller Park and Portland Memorial Park.

“So, what we’re looking at is just keeping it very low maintenance,” Ison said.

The committee is working with Nature’s Green of Fort Recovery to develop the concept. Ison said he expects to have cost estimates ready to be discussed at the Dec. 16 Portland City Council meeting.

With the park board agreeing informally to support the idea, the next step will be to present it to city council.

If the council is on board, the committee and park board would seek grant funding for the project.

Board members Shauna Runkle, John McFarland, Jennifer Weitzel and Michael Brewster also approved three expenditures for Haynes Park.

The board has already ordered new playground equipment to replace an outdated unit near the shelter house on the north side of the park and looked at related items Tuesday. It approved spending $5,530 on mulch and plastic borders for the playground area. It also approved a $5,295 contract with Gurgling Brook of Geneva to fence in the playground area after equipment has been installed.

Also approved as an $7,250 contract with Tri County Log and Tree Service of rural Portland for removing dead limbs from the trees in Haynes Park. (City crews will handle the clean-up work.)

“That project has to be done for the safety of the public,” said Shauver.

In other business, the board:

•Briefly looked ahead to 2025, noting the need to begin advertising for a manager for Portland Water Park. The facility will also need some equipment upgrades, said Ison, specifically mentioning umbrellas.

•Heard from parks manager Ronnie Reynolds that all parks have been winterized and that he is working on getting quotes for mowers for the department.

•Approved a request from Arts Place to allow the sale of alcohol for its Hudson Family Park Amphitheatre concert series performances on June 19 and July 10. Brewster, who is a Portland police officer, said there were no behavior issues resulting from alcohol sales at concerts this year.

•Was reminded by Ison that meetings will be recorded and livestreamed in 2025. (Doing so is required by state law beginning July 1.) The board will continue to meet at 5:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month.