Menu
Park Board hears about progress on tennis court project
Summer's over, the pool is closed and recreational thoughts are usually turning to indoor pursuits.
But plenty of activity is still going on outside at City of Greencastle parks, as evidenced in Director Rod Weinschenk's report to the Park Board Thursday night.
Construction, for example, is under way on the tennis courts in the northeast corner of Robe-Ann Park as McCullough Excavating of Bainbridge has begun the process of renovating the courts, the first real attention given to that area since a new tennis court surface was put down in 1998.
The $211,655 project is being funded by a $100,000 donation to the city from Heartland Automotive and $100,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the Miller School building, as well as $15,000 from the Park Department's non-reverting fund.
Weinschenk said construction began during the past week and an asphalt surface is expected to be laid in the coming week.
The reconstruction of the tennis courts will include reconfiguration of the five present courts into three tennis courts and six pickle ball courts. The "growing sport" of pickle ball, it was explained at a previous meeting, is like ping pong played on small tennis courts (think courts aligned horizontally the width of a tennis court).
The Park Board agreed to an additional $7,500 expenditure to remove the fencing so additional asphalt can be added up against the concrete barrier wall on the north side of tennis courts.
Meanwhile, Spiker Excavating has been working on Micayla Cancilla Park in the city's south end. Curb and gutter have been laid in portions and the center grading has been completed, Weinschenk said.
As part of the project, culvert will be laid on the south side of Maple Berry Park to help direct water from one end to the other.
The design of a Cancilla Park sign and plans for playground equipment will be addressed soon, the park director added.
The Park Board was also updated on progress at the dog park at the southwest corner of Big Walnut Sport Park.
"We're installing a three-way drinking fountain," Weinschenk said, explaining it is designed for "someone standing, someone in a wheelchair and someone with four legs."
Meanwhile, the picnic table at the dog park will be replaced with an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible table, "which should wrap up the project," Weinschenk said.
The dog park is "getting good use," Assistant Director Phil Cornelius said recently, reporting that one a recent visit there he found eight dogs on site.
Six were "having fun, running like crazy," while two others were sniffing around being social, he said.
It was also reported that the Friends of the Park organization is donating $80 from its recent fundraiser to purchase a tree for the dog park area that will be planted and dedicated in the spring.
In other business:
-- Weinschenk told the board youth basketball registration forms will go home with schoolchildren next week. Deadline to sign up is Nov. 20. Practices will begin the week of Dec. 14 with games to start Saturday, Jan. 9. Registration is $65 per player with forms also available at City Hall.
-- The board approved use of Robe-Ann Park for the Nov. 21 Greencastle High School Key Club Color Run 5K, which will start at GHS, proceed down Washington and Woods streets, into the park and back to GHS. Registration is $25 for adults and $15 for those 12 and under until Nov. 13. Proceeds will go to the Charlie Pingleton fund.
Attending the meeting along with Weinschenk and Cornelius were board members Beva Miller, president, and John Hennette, Tim Trigg and Cathy Merrell, along with ex-officio member Wayne Lewis and City Council liaison Phyllis Rokicki.
The next session of the Greencastle Park Board will convene at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3 at City Hall.