Club donates trees

Some trees have come down.

Others will be added.

Portland Board Board accepted a gift of three trees from the Plant, Hoe and Hope garden club during its meeting Tuesday.

During his report, parks manager Ronnie Reynolds noted that three trees were cut down in Haynes Park after they were found to be hollow during a trimming project. That trimming work is complete.

The board later accepted a donation of trees from Plant, Hoe and Hope, with Carol Johnston presenting the offer. She noted that the club for years handled downtown planters and has looked for other ways to give back to the community after those duties were shifted to Portland Main Street Connect.

Johnston told the board that the club would like to donate three trees — a tulip, a bald cypress and a Japanese maple. The dog park at Hudson Family Park was one of the areas it was considering. She asked for suggestions on other areas in the city parks where the trees could be planted.

After some discussion, board members agreed that members of the garden club, Kyle Cook of Cook’s Nursery and Reynolds could get together at the parks and decide the best locations for the new trees to be planted.

Park board members Brian Ison, Jennifer Weitzel and Michael Brewster, with Emily Goodrich and Kyle Carpenter absent, accepted the gift of the trees and agreed that small markers could be placed acknowledging the donation.

Reynolds also reported to the board that work will be done to add a water line to improve service at Haynes Park. He said there have been frequent issues with low pressure because the current line is galvanized and is corroding shut. The project is estimated at $3,500.

Relating to other projects, Reynolds noted:

•KBL Transport of Portland has completed paving work and striping for the basketball court at Milton Miller Park

•Resurfacing of a section of the walking trail at Hudson Family Park will begin soon. He noted that KBL also handled crack sealing for the entire trail at no additional charge.

•Jay School Corporation donated a set of soccer goals, which have been placed between the softball fields and Runkle-Miller Field at Portland Memorial Park.

•Electrical work at Runkle-Miller Field is underway.

•Regular winterizing of the park restrooms will begin in late October.

Reynolds also reported an incident of vandalism at Hudson Family Park in which two juveniles lit a trash can on fire, causing some damage to walls and the ceiling. He presented an estimate of $1,742.40 to repair and repaint the damaged areas, noting that the information has been presented to the county’s probation office for legal action.

Ison said the recent inaugural Bridge Dinner at the green bridge connecting Hudson Family Park and Weiler-Wilson Park was well-attended. The organizers of the event donated the lights used on the bridge for the event to the city and they will remain in place on the bridge.