Budget reviewed

The parks budget has stayed mostly flat for years.

More funding is being sought in order to keep up with maintenance.

Portland Park Board discussed the proposed 2026 budget for the parks, including possible increases in various areas, during its meeting Tuesday.

Park board president Brian Ison, who answered questions at Portland City Council’s last meeting regarding the budget, noted the increases that are being requested. The requested increases include:

•An additional $35,000 for park repairs and replacements

•An increase of $29,000, to a total of $79,000, for capital projects

•$25,000 for a new line item for edging and other improvements at the Hudson Family Park pond

•An increase of $5,000, to a total of $50,000, for paving work

“Our budget really has been underfunded for the number of parks that we have had,” said Ison. “As we’ve added on to Hudson park and any other growth that we’ve had, we’ve not really had much of a growth in our budget to handle any repair and replace. So, our request is for us to get back to that level where we should be …”

He also noted areas of the budget that have been pulled back, including a reduction of $25,000 from the original proposal for contractual work related to developing the next five-year park plan.

Ison added that the park board continues to work on partnering with outside organizations, such as the Portland Rockets, Portland Junior League and Jay County Pee Wee Football, to split the cost of facility upgrades.

The board also addressed the budget as related to Portland Water park, with Ison noting that the board was already under water on its $20,000 budget for repairs and maintenance before the facility opened for 2025. Its budget request for 2026 is $70,000.

To help control the budget, Ison asked the board and parks staff to think about staffing at the water park. He brought up the possibilities of limiting the number of features that are open in order to reduce the number of lifeguards needed as well as adjusting staffing at the concession stand.

He said if any changes are to be made, it will be important to make them in advance and communicate with all involved.

Pickleball courts that were constructed at Milton Miller Park on the north side of Portland in 2023 are among the new amenities that have been added to the city’s park system in recent years. Street and parks department superintendent Matt Shauver reported Tuesday that a bank of lights from the adjacent baseball/softball diamond will be rotated to light the courts. (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)

 

Ison reminded the board that the public hearing and first reading of the budget is slated for Monday, with a vote on adoption planned for Oct. 6.

During his update, parks manager Ronnie Reynolds said work has started on the basketball court at Milton Miller Park and tree trimming at Haynes Park is scheduled to begin Friday. The only other project slated for this fall involves electrical upgrades at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.

In other business, the board:

•Discussed installing security cameras in the area of the east gazebo at Hudson Family Park.

•Learned from street and parks department superintendent Matt Shauver that plans are to turn a bank of lights from the baseball/softball diamond at Milton Miller Park to cover the pickleball courts. They will be on a timer. 4TC Corporation is donating the work.

•Talked about a proposal to install new overhead doors on the press box and concession stand at Runkle-Miller Field. Ison reported that the Portland Rockets, who use the field, are not yet ready to make a financial commitment. The project will be tabled until the team is ready to move forward.

•Heard from Shauver that Plant, Hoe and Hope garden club plans to donate three trees to the park system. He said two trees will be planted in the dog park at Hudson Family Park in order to provide shade in that area. The other will be a memorial tree, and members of the club plan to visit the October park board meeting to provide details.