Warsaw Parks Plans Slight Increase For 2020 Budget
June 26, 2019 at 12:22 a.m.
By David [email protected]
The city council still will need to approve the budget.
The first and smallest budget was the parks non-reverting fund that Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa uses for park programs. The budget is based on fees collected by the parks department. Its proposed 2020 total is $18,350, a 17% increase from this year’s budget.
Superintendent Larry Plummer said the budget included a $3,000 increase in operating supplies for five new programs. Those were identified by Wieringa as a gingerbread house workshop, Colorful Ceramics, SafeSitter, Paint in the Park Jr. and Superhero Training Camp.
The second and largest budget was the parks and recreation fund, also known as the operating budget. It’s proposed at $2,772,500 for 2020, a 7% increase over the 2019 budget.
The operating budget includes salaries and wages for parks employees. Plummer said he was advised by the city’s human resources department and the mayor’s office to put a 3% increase in there. The city council approved 4% in 2018 for 2019, he said later in the meeting. There’s also 27 pay periods in 2020 instead of 26 due to 2020 being leap year. The proposed amount for 2020 salaries and wages is $1,065,000.
With the increase in wages and additional pay period, amounts for FICA and PERF also will increase. They are estimated at $81,500 and $106,000 respectively for 2020.
For medical insurance, a 15% increase was estimated in the budget, but it could be cut later by the council once rates are known. The amount budgeted is $434,000.
Under professional services of the operating fund, $135,000 is budgeted for 2020 for construction design for the Center Lake Pavilion remodel and park offices.
“In talking with the mayor and city planner, we’d like to put that $135,000 in there for the construction drawings of the pavilion. We’ve been through this long journey so far, we’ve got a couple of steps done, but the next step is to do construction drawings for the office and remodel. Once construction drawings are done, and funds are secured to do the project, we can bid it out right away,” Plummer said.
Under repairs and maintenance of the operating fund, $45,000 is planned to address the drainage problem and increase parking at Hire Park BMX on Arthur Street. Another $42,000 is budgeted to repair the Indiana Street parking lot at Central Park.
For the demolition of the gas station at Central Park at the intersection of Detroit and Canal streets, $20,000 is budgeted.
Capital outlays include $26,000 for a new pickup truck replacing a 2005 truck, $35,000 for a new electricians van replacing a 2005 van and new playground equipment at Kerr Park for $50,000.
Council representative to the board Diane Quance asked if they were “hitting everything” in the department’s five-year plan.
“We’re hitting most of it. You can’t hit it all, but we’re hitting quite a bit of our five-year plan each year,” Plummer said.
In his report, Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner said his workers began tearing out the old amphitheater at Lucerne Park.
“We got a good start on it, then we had two solid days of rain and had some big problems. We’re going to let it dry out a little bit and then get back out on it,” he said.
Gardner said he hoped to get moving on the new amphitheater “sooner rather than later.”
Quance complimented the parks’ laborers.
“I think they’ve just done an excellent job at keeping the tree limbs picked up, and the debris up. I’ve been so impressed with the turnaround time after we’ve had one of these storms,” she said.
On Friday, the Board of Public Works and Safety opened the sole bid for the amphitheater reconstruction project. It was from Roche Constructors Inc. for $208,700. Plummer asked that the bid be taken under advisement, which the Board of Works approved.
At Tuesday’s park board meeting, Plummer said they were working with the contractor to reduce the cost of the project a little bit, but “it is our intention to award the contract at the July 5 Board of Works meeting.”
He said the cost came in a little bit more than they thought but “I think we’re going to have a nice project when we’re done.”
The city council still will need to approve the budget.
The first and smallest budget was the parks non-reverting fund that Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa uses for park programs. The budget is based on fees collected by the parks department. Its proposed 2020 total is $18,350, a 17% increase from this year’s budget.
Superintendent Larry Plummer said the budget included a $3,000 increase in operating supplies for five new programs. Those were identified by Wieringa as a gingerbread house workshop, Colorful Ceramics, SafeSitter, Paint in the Park Jr. and Superhero Training Camp.
The second and largest budget was the parks and recreation fund, also known as the operating budget. It’s proposed at $2,772,500 for 2020, a 7% increase over the 2019 budget.
The operating budget includes salaries and wages for parks employees. Plummer said he was advised by the city’s human resources department and the mayor’s office to put a 3% increase in there. The city council approved 4% in 2018 for 2019, he said later in the meeting. There’s also 27 pay periods in 2020 instead of 26 due to 2020 being leap year. The proposed amount for 2020 salaries and wages is $1,065,000.
With the increase in wages and additional pay period, amounts for FICA and PERF also will increase. They are estimated at $81,500 and $106,000 respectively for 2020.
For medical insurance, a 15% increase was estimated in the budget, but it could be cut later by the council once rates are known. The amount budgeted is $434,000.
Under professional services of the operating fund, $135,000 is budgeted for 2020 for construction design for the Center Lake Pavilion remodel and park offices.
“In talking with the mayor and city planner, we’d like to put that $135,000 in there for the construction drawings of the pavilion. We’ve been through this long journey so far, we’ve got a couple of steps done, but the next step is to do construction drawings for the office and remodel. Once construction drawings are done, and funds are secured to do the project, we can bid it out right away,” Plummer said.
Under repairs and maintenance of the operating fund, $45,000 is planned to address the drainage problem and increase parking at Hire Park BMX on Arthur Street. Another $42,000 is budgeted to repair the Indiana Street parking lot at Central Park.
For the demolition of the gas station at Central Park at the intersection of Detroit and Canal streets, $20,000 is budgeted.
Capital outlays include $26,000 for a new pickup truck replacing a 2005 truck, $35,000 for a new electricians van replacing a 2005 van and new playground equipment at Kerr Park for $50,000.
Council representative to the board Diane Quance asked if they were “hitting everything” in the department’s five-year plan.
“We’re hitting most of it. You can’t hit it all, but we’re hitting quite a bit of our five-year plan each year,” Plummer said.
In his report, Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner said his workers began tearing out the old amphitheater at Lucerne Park.
“We got a good start on it, then we had two solid days of rain and had some big problems. We’re going to let it dry out a little bit and then get back out on it,” he said.
Gardner said he hoped to get moving on the new amphitheater “sooner rather than later.”
Quance complimented the parks’ laborers.
“I think they’ve just done an excellent job at keeping the tree limbs picked up, and the debris up. I’ve been so impressed with the turnaround time after we’ve had one of these storms,” she said.
On Friday, the Board of Public Works and Safety opened the sole bid for the amphitheater reconstruction project. It was from Roche Constructors Inc. for $208,700. Plummer asked that the bid be taken under advisement, which the Board of Works approved.
At Tuesday’s park board meeting, Plummer said they were working with the contractor to reduce the cost of the project a little bit, but “it is our intention to award the contract at the July 5 Board of Works meeting.”
He said the cost came in a little bit more than they thought but “I think we’re going to have a nice project when we’re done.”
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