Recreational Activities, Upgrades To Facilities In The Works
April 9, 2019 at 1:02 a.m.
Recreational Activities, Upgrades To Facilities In The Works
By David [email protected]
The Festival is May 17-19, and its director, Greg Demopoulos, appeared before the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Monday to request some road closures for the event. He also is the board president for Kosciusko County Velo, which is requesting the road closures.
“This will be the 16th year for the festival. This will be the fourth year for the downtown road time trial” which was what the road closure request is for, he said. Road closure would start at 2 p.m. May 17, with the time trials starting at 5 p.m. and the road reopening at midnight.
Demopoulos said the road closure will be similar to the last two years, with the “red phase” being the closing of Center Street between Indiana and Lake streets, and Buffalo and Indiana streets between Main and Market streets.
The “orange phase” would include the closing of the rest of the streets, which is out to Boggs Industrial Park and Zimmer Biomet.
Demopoulos said the difference this year comes from feedback from citizens and police.
“We’re going to keep a portion north-south on Lake Street, and then also where Center Street and Market Street converge open until the very last minute. Until we have to close the roads to get the course completely ready for the racers to take off,” he said, noting that will be about 6:45 p.m. with the first riders taking off at 7 p.m.
The board unanimously approved the road closures for the Festival.
In a quick note to the board, Demopoulos said in 2018 the Festival had 2,119 event participants, with thousands more in attendance. The two winners of the road time trial last year – man and woman – are now racing professionally.
“So the caliber of participants we have is incredible,” he said.
Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer told the board about two grants awarded for the Kelly Park Pickleball Courts. The first was for $31,933 from the Dr. Dane and Louise Miller Foundation, and the second was for $31,932.50 from the K21 Health Foundation.
He said the tennis courts will be reconstructed to include four permanent pickleball courts.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said, “We would just like to say we never take for granted community partners who are willing to step up and provide a unique quality of life and park opportunities for all of our community, for all of our citizens. And again, this is just another example ... a special acknowledgement to both Dane and Mary Louise Foundation, as well as K21.”
Plummer said, “This is incredible where we live in a community where foundations get behind parks and recreation and provide opportunity because it’s my understanding that these will be the first permanent pickleball courts in Kosciusko County outside that the public can use for free. It’s exciting.”
Thallemer asked Plummer to elaborate on some of the projects at Kelly Park, 130 Fawley St., Warsaw.
Plummer said in addition to the pickleball courts, the parks department is getting ready to put in $90,000 worth of new playground equipment there. Parks laborers were laying the foundation for it Monday.
“Not only that, we have the parking lot for the sledding hill coming off Baker Street. We’ve had some problems with parking on Baker Street cause some concerns, but that’s going to go in after June. So we’ll have that, a new playground, some concrete work plus the tennis courts. A busy place and it’ll look great once it’s all done,” Plummer said.
In other recreation business, the board approved:
• Street closures for First Friday downtown Warsaw for 2019. Dates are May 3, May 19, June 7, July 5, Aug. 2, Sept. 6, Oct. 4, Nov. 1 and Dec. 6.
• A contract for $750 for Treated-N-Released to be the opening entertainment for the Blues & BBQ concert June 28. The band is from Fulton County.
• A contract for $800 for Alicia Pyle Quartet to perform a jazz concert Aug. 9 as part of the Central Park Concert Series. The quartet is from Fort Wayne and replaces Smooth Edge II, which had to back out of the concert.
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The Festival is May 17-19, and its director, Greg Demopoulos, appeared before the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Monday to request some road closures for the event. He also is the board president for Kosciusko County Velo, which is requesting the road closures.
“This will be the 16th year for the festival. This will be the fourth year for the downtown road time trial” which was what the road closure request is for, he said. Road closure would start at 2 p.m. May 17, with the time trials starting at 5 p.m. and the road reopening at midnight.
Demopoulos said the road closure will be similar to the last two years, with the “red phase” being the closing of Center Street between Indiana and Lake streets, and Buffalo and Indiana streets between Main and Market streets.
The “orange phase” would include the closing of the rest of the streets, which is out to Boggs Industrial Park and Zimmer Biomet.
Demopoulos said the difference this year comes from feedback from citizens and police.
“We’re going to keep a portion north-south on Lake Street, and then also where Center Street and Market Street converge open until the very last minute. Until we have to close the roads to get the course completely ready for the racers to take off,” he said, noting that will be about 6:45 p.m. with the first riders taking off at 7 p.m.
The board unanimously approved the road closures for the Festival.
In a quick note to the board, Demopoulos said in 2018 the Festival had 2,119 event participants, with thousands more in attendance. The two winners of the road time trial last year – man and woman – are now racing professionally.
“So the caliber of participants we have is incredible,” he said.
Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer told the board about two grants awarded for the Kelly Park Pickleball Courts. The first was for $31,933 from the Dr. Dane and Louise Miller Foundation, and the second was for $31,932.50 from the K21 Health Foundation.
He said the tennis courts will be reconstructed to include four permanent pickleball courts.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said, “We would just like to say we never take for granted community partners who are willing to step up and provide a unique quality of life and park opportunities for all of our community, for all of our citizens. And again, this is just another example ... a special acknowledgement to both Dane and Mary Louise Foundation, as well as K21.”
Plummer said, “This is incredible where we live in a community where foundations get behind parks and recreation and provide opportunity because it’s my understanding that these will be the first permanent pickleball courts in Kosciusko County outside that the public can use for free. It’s exciting.”
Thallemer asked Plummer to elaborate on some of the projects at Kelly Park, 130 Fawley St., Warsaw.
Plummer said in addition to the pickleball courts, the parks department is getting ready to put in $90,000 worth of new playground equipment there. Parks laborers were laying the foundation for it Monday.
“Not only that, we have the parking lot for the sledding hill coming off Baker Street. We’ve had some problems with parking on Baker Street cause some concerns, but that’s going to go in after June. So we’ll have that, a new playground, some concrete work plus the tennis courts. A busy place and it’ll look great once it’s all done,” Plummer said.
In other recreation business, the board approved:
• Street closures for First Friday downtown Warsaw for 2019. Dates are May 3, May 19, June 7, July 5, Aug. 2, Sept. 6, Oct. 4, Nov. 1 and Dec. 6.
• A contract for $750 for Treated-N-Released to be the opening entertainment for the Blues & BBQ concert June 28. The band is from Fulton County.
• A contract for $800 for Alicia Pyle Quartet to perform a jazz concert Aug. 9 as part of the Central Park Concert Series. The quartet is from Fort Wayne and replaces Smooth Edge II, which had to back out of the concert.
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