Repairs at the city auditorium and pool, new pavilion roofs and ball field maintenance are among the requests park officials are asking to be funded in next year’s budget.
Parks Director Darren Dunkle reviewed the list of requests at a parks committee meeting May 17.
Budget requests from city departments are due by the end of May. The city budget is normally adopted before Oct. 1 of each year.
Dunkle said one item he would like to see funded is new lights and doors at the city auditorium.
The existing light bulbs are no longer made by the manufacturer, he said, and should be replaced with more efficient bulbs. Also, the hardware on the doors keeps breaking, he said.
Additionally, funds will be requested to replace roofs on pavilions around Lions Lake and at the riverfront.
Bob Kloeppel, park board member, suggested using metal roofs, which will last longer.
Filling in cracks and repainting the tennis courts at the fairgrounds is another request the parks department will make.
Work at all of the city’s baseball and softball fields is needed, Dunkle said, and light poles at McLaughlin Field need to be replaced.
There also is some equipment replacement items that will be requested, Dunkle noted.
Pool Repairs
While the parks department has been working with Midwest Pool Management on several maintenance items before the pool opens next weekend, “there are some things we didn’t get to,” Dunkle said.
He said the pool deck needs to be recaulked and the lines in the competition pool need to be repainted.
The leisure pool needs a “total resurfacing,” the parks director said, and the deck near the southwest corner of the competition pool is starting to sink. Additionally, some valves need to be replaced.
There is a possible expense at the wading pool, as new regulations with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) states that wading pools must have a zero-depth entry.
However, Dunkle said that regulation is being challenged.
“If the wading pool is only 1 foot deep, why would you need a zero-depth entry?” he asked.
In the meantime, the city has ordered new aquatic lifts for wheelchair users, which was another new requirement to make all public pools ADA-compliant.
A safety vacuum release system, required by changes to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Act, will be installed at the main and leisure pools before they open.
