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Parks spruced up for summertime
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By BRITTANY SCHOCK
Daily Globe Staff Reporter
SHELBY — The city of Shelby’s Park Board heard from a number of guests at their Monday night meeting, keeping tabs on the activities of the city’s parks as the busy summer season fast approaches.
The board met at the Park Garage in Seltzer Park and took the time to tour the Seltzer Pool renovations taking place. Members observed the newly resurfaced flooring of the men and women’s restrooms, with drains added, as well as the walls painted to look like new. The board also visited the new equipment in the concession stand, including an ice maker and industrial sink, and discussed how to properly vent the area in the future.
Seltzer Pool manager Jordan Nelson walked the board through the pool’s renovations, and brought members up to date on pool workings since the first staff meeting of the year.
“We talked about rental procedures, running of the pool, daily admissions, prices, stuff we talk about every year,” said Nelson.
With the guards running the pool’s concession stand this year instead of the Shelby Band Parents, Nelson also touched on new rules for the concession stand based on Ohio Health Codes, such as keeping food supplies off the floor and proper food temperatures for serving and cooking. The guards working the concession stand also allows for the option to keep the concession stand open for private pool rentals, so long as the renter pays to cover the cost of the extra guard to work the concession stand.
Lee Wilkins, president of the Shelby Tennis Association, was present at Monday’s meeting to bring the board up to speed on its third year of summer tennis programs. Park Board president John Makley stressed the importance of the community’s interest in tennis for the tennis courts to eventually be fixed.
“The United States Tennis Association has grants available, but they only give it to communities who are sincerely interested in tennis, so that's what we’re trying to do here, and at the same time develop a tennis community in this town that can help feed the high school with strong, competitive young players,” Makley explained.
Wilkins said youth tennis programs will be held for four weeks in June and four weeks in July from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will encompass all ages. After that, adult social tennis sessions will be available for any adult players wishing to get some court time as well as receive tips in a more casual environment. Wilkins advised the board to look into fixing the cracks and dips in the courts, at least for the short term.
“It’s something that needs to be done to show the community you’re behind it, and to make them suitable to play,” he said.
Makley said while he would not be asking the board for money to fix the courts this year, he would like to make an investment to garner community interest. Ultimately the board voted to set aside $500 to spend in helping promote the Shelby Tennis Association for the year.
“We need support to get community involvement in tennis here so we can go to the USTA and say we have interest here, help us rebuild our courts,” said Makley.
The board also voted later to support the efforts of the Shelby Cruise-In for the summer. Cruise-In president Jim Hoak addressed the board at Monday night’s meeting, asking for their permission and public support to hold a movie night after the Cruise-In. The movie would be shown in Blackfork Park on an inflatable screen, and would be family-oriented.
“If we’re going to do it, I’d like to have the community vote on a movie somehow,” said Hoak. “I’d rather see it based on the community itself, and I was hoping it could be something automobile related.”
The Shelby Cruise-In will be held on August 17 this year from 2 to 10 p.m., with the movie starting at dusk. The board noted in a bittersweet moment that construction on the downtown park would not interfere with the Cruise-In this year.
“(Project Coordinator) Joe (Gies) is not confident that we’ll go with the construction this summer because of the deed,” said Makley, referring to the piece of land in the downtown park that is not technically owned by the city. “I don’t think the court date is even until July. I think we’re safe in that we can have a movie night and not have to worry about construction; unfortunately Blackfork Park will be just as it is this summer.”
After discussions concluded on the board’s regular agenda, an executive session was called to discuss personnel issues with Parks Superintendent Jerry Marshall. Makley said the board would likely be approving job descriptions and pay matrixes at the end of the session. |
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