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The end may be near for Emerald Palace
After more than 20 years as one of the centerpieces at Greencastle’s Robe-Ann Park, the Emerald Palace playground may be on its last legs.
That’s the bombshell Assistant Park Director/Maintenance Director Chrysta Snellenberger dropped on the City Park Board at its March meeting Wednesday night.
Snellenberger said the playground -- which resulted from a community blitz construction effort spearheaded by the Greencastle Civic League and won 2001 Citizen of the Year honors for its three main organizers, Denise Sigworth, Rachel Seipel and Lynn Wilson -- needs to be taken down before it falls down.
“It’s starting to break down,” Park Director Greg Ruark interjected.
“It is,” Snellenberger agreed. “It’s deteriorating.”
That pronouncement caught even Mayor Lynda Dunbar by surprise.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Dunbar said from the audience at the park office. “There’s a lot of historic significance to that wooden structure. We’re one of a few places in Indiana who have a wooden structure like that.”
Undoubtedly there are some sentimental aspects as well as hundreds of volunteers spent a cold, wet weekend building the playground that was inspired by the dreams of Greencastle schoolchildren.
Longtime Park Board member Tim Trigg recalled battling the elements, including mud that went up past his ankles.
Explaining that an Emerald Palace redo could make it safe, secure and “accessible to everyone” with an emphasis on ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements, Snellenberger said she hopes to secure grants and do fundraising as the wood and mulch are likely replaced by recycled plastic products or composite materials and metal.
The project would likely be done in 2025, Snellenberger said.
“Do we want to keep it palace-y?” Park Board President Cathy Merrell asked.
“I do want to keep it a palace,” Snellenberger responded, adding that she is “looking for a way to keep the fence slats.”
Those are the pickets that listed names of donors to the project. They were also sold with peoples’ names embossed as a fundraiser for upkeep of the structure.
Snellenberger suggested the pickets could be saved and displayed in an area adjacent to the new playground equipment she envisions.
“Your effort to keep the pieces is important,” Merrell said. “I think this material will be better at taking a beating from the bigger kids that are in there.”
Merrell called the idea “exciting, especially with the new look to the park,” alluding to the Robe-Ann Park improvements that will see phase II begin this spring. “Keep us updated.”
No formal action was taken on the Emerald Palace project, which was not listed as an agenda item but came up under Snellenberger’s report.
Meanwhile, arrangements continue for hosting viewers of the April 8 eclipse at Big Walnut Sports Park.
The Putnam County Chamber of Commerce wants to provide music, Ruark said, while four vendors have been secured so far. The Convention and Visitors Bureau is providing port-a-lets for the day and eclipse glasses for passengers of cars paying the $10 fee to enter and park. The Parks and Recreation Department has purchased flying discs for the event at a cost of $499.13, encouraging visitors to use the disc golf course while they are waiting for the eclipse or waiting to exit after the event.
Meanwhile, the first parking pass has been sold online, Ruark said, to a couple coming from Colorado for the once-in-a-lifetime event. Eclipse T-shirts are also being sold on the park website.
“At this point, we’re just waiting for the event to get here and for good weather,” Ruark added.
“I can’t believe it’s almost here now,” Merrell responded. “We’ve been talking about this for how long?”
The Park Board will have one more meeting, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, before the event unfolds on April 8.
In other business, the Park Board:
• Took no action on the proposed sale of alcohol during non-family night events of Park Fest this summer. The proposal remains tabled.
• Heard Park Director Ruark report that the park’s five-year master plan, subject of a special meeting last month, is set to be forwarded to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources by April 15. “So that process is almost complete,” Ruark said of a document that is a necessity for receiving future grant funding.
• Heard Ruark report that he, Recreation Director Ashley Crady and resident Allison Leer will make a day trip to St. Louis for the Trans World Christmas Show in an effort to get ideas and make contacts on improving the annual Christmas lights event at Robe-Ann Park. Ruark also noted that the park has purchased some more Christmas lights recently at a greatly reduced off-season rate.
• Heard Snellenberger report that the new lifeguard chairs have been delivered and assembled, complete with cup holders and a place for an umbrella. They are sitting on the pool deck. Noting the guards would have to try to tip these chairs over, she said, “They don’t wobble, they’re sturdy. And they’ll look even better when the blue water is in there.”
• Announced a Peeps diorama contest with entries due March 25-29 at the park office. Youngsters up to age 12 will compete in one category and teens/adults age 13 and up in another with the idea of building a scene using marshmallow Peeps. Winners will be announced at the annual Easter Egg Hunt set for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 30 at Big Walnut Sports Park due to construction expected at Robe-Ann.
• Approved a pair of requests from Sheila Holloway of the Putnam County Recovery Coalition. On Aug. 31, Overdose Awareness Day, a color run will be staged in Robe-Ann Park, beginning at 8 p.m. Earlier events begin at 5:30 and include food, vendors and music. Also approved was permission to place a Narcan box, like the one outside the park office, at Jaycee Park for emergency use in case of a drug overdose.
• Learned that as of Wednesday, applications for lifeguards have been received from six individuals. The pool is due to open Memorial Day weekend.
• Heard Snellenberger report that she is looking for suppliers for concession stand food products rather than going to Kroger and Sam’s repeatedly to restock as previous concessions operators have done. She also hopes to add a pop machine at the pool so that the concession stand would sell only water and Gatorade. A second pop machine is also being considered for the softball diamond area.
Park Board President Merrell and Trigg were joined for the session by Scott Hamilton with member Doug Hutchison absent. Also on hand were Mayor Dunbar and park liaison and City Council President Stacie Langdon.