Mayor Lays Out Preliminary Plan For Parks Reopening
May 7, 2020 at 12:19 a.m.
Mayor Lays Out Preliminary Plan For Parks Reopening
By David [email protected]
The coronavirus pandemic and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s executive orders have kept the Warsaw parks quiet so far this spring, but soon – little by little – they may be filled with the echoes of joy again.
Holcomb on Friday announced his five stages of reopening the state. On Wednesday, during the weekly press briefing in city hall, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer previewed the city’s tentative plan to reopen the city and its recreation facilities. County Commissioner Brad Jackson also explained the county’s plan to reopen.
“The governor’s plan and the local plans ... we’re still kind of in our final stages. We’ve had two meetings this week with department heads since last Friday. We continue to take information from them. I think we’ve got a pretty good graph started, and we’ll talk about some of the details this morning,” Thallemer said.
He reminded the public that the plan is only “as good as our progress.” The state is only in Stage 2 of 5 now, and Thallemer said the city wasn’t going to look much further than that for the moment. “The important thing is, we’ve got to continue our diligence in Stage 2.”
The city has been open for business, by phone, text, email or website and provides the necessary services, with the only difference that the public buildings have been closed, Thallemer said, adding that they will remain closed until June 1. At that point, the buildings will reopen, but with restrictions including the public will be required to wear masks. Public meetings will continue to be virtual through June 4, but Thallemer said he’d like to continue to have them virtually beyond that if possible.
City employees will be fully scheduled beginning the week of May 18-22.
“How we move ahead is going to be based on the four metrics that the state set up, and also looking at our countywide and regional statistics,” Thallemer said. “If we need to dial things back a bit, with the expertise of our county health department and looking at these metrics, we will not hesitate to dial back if we feel we need to, but we need to have these plans set out so we have something to work from.”
The further out the stages go, the more tentative they are, he said, because “we don’t know what’s going to happen in June, we don’t know what’s going to happen in July. We can only hope what we want to happen then.”
Looking at Stages 2 and 3, which come with restrictions, he said the Warsaw Parks & Recreation Department will probably come out with a matrix of its own with activities and restrictions later this week.
He touched on a few of those, noting that everything is subject to change as conditions dictate.
“We’re looking at reopening our playgrounds, as directed by the governor, in Stage 3, which would be May 25, which would include tennis and pickleball. We’re going to keep the basketball courts closed because we don’t like we’ve got an opportunity to control social distancing. Tentatively, we may open those up in Stage 4,” Thallemer said.
Asked why playgrounds were going to be open – with kids touching and crawling all over the equipment with other kids – but basketball courts – generally with older kids and/or adults – weren’t going to be open as soon, Thallemer said, “We’re going to take a look at that. Again, with these restrictions, nothing has been finalized. We were just looking more at the dates and basing them off of – I believe the governor allowed playgrounds to be open at a certain time, and I believe that was Stage 3. And we looked at potentially waiting until the next stage to do basketball courts because of congregating that occurs, and that’s close physical contact on a basketball court.”
He said that doesn’t mean the parks couldn’t open up the basketball courts for people to “shoot around,” but that’s a difficult issue. “I’m not slamming the door on opening those when the playgrounds open. We’re just trying to think through the best way to do that to, again, not promote what’s going on as far as the spread,” he said.
Thallemer said they didn’t want to promote social activities too prematurely.
“So that’s our rational. I know it’s not easy. I wish the timing were better,” he said, adding that things could change.
The state is allowing the city to open up its campgrounds for seasonal rentals only, beginning May 25.
Potentially, outdoor picnic shelters will not open up until June 15 as far as rentals go, and those will be limited to 50% capacity.
As far as the Parks Department’s other rentals – Center Lake Pavilion, Fireman’s Building, Nye Youth Cabin, Lucerne Amphitheater – Thallemer said they will remain closed until Stage 5, which is scheduled for July 5.
“We potentially will resume our Friday Night Concert Series July 4 with social distancing,” Thallemer said.
He later clarified that the concert series does not include the Classic Rock Concert, Country Concert and Blues & BBQ as those are separate concerts and have been cancelled for 2020.
The Friday Night Series is typically in Central Park Plaza, a smaller venue, behind Glover Pavilion. Most years it starts in June but was pushed back into early to mid July.
“That’s far enough away that that’s our plan, but we are not totally committed to that until we see where we’re at after we get through these first couple of stages,” Thallemer said.
Tentatively, Hire Park BMX track will open in Stage 4, with potential practice sooner by appointment with a small group.
“This year, we decided to put a moratorium on leasing out our picnic tables and sawhorse tables, given the concerns,” Thallemer said.
Beaches will remain closed until potentially June 15. “We’re not sure exactly how that is going to look, but that’s the date we’re kind of looking toward,” he said.
Mantis Skate Park will not open until July 4, with restrictions.
“A lot of what I’ve mentioned is tentative, with more details to follow. The parks will come out with a matrix that talks about these different recreational activities and spaces. Like everything else, we’re trying to look at how we can reopen. The dates are tentative. Period. The restrictions have not been finalized,” Thallemer said.
Jackson reported the county has tried to implement plans ahead of time so it’s not taken by surprise, and so far that’s worked. As an example of that, he noted the county contracted with an outside professional cleaning service so that if it has anybody test positive for COVID-19, the cleaning service would come in and clean that area.
He said starting May 11, the county will have all of its “team” back in working, but will still only be open to the public by appointment. Then on May 18, the county will reopen to the public, with each department head deciding the best way for their employees to interact with the public, whether that’s tables in the hallway, plexiglass or whatever.
“But the one thing, I’d really like to stress and get out to the public, is we’re asking, please – when you have to go to the courthouse to conduct business, whatever that might be – please come alone. Don’t make it a family outing and bring a bunch of people along,” Jackson said.
If that becomes a problem, he said the county may start to restrict visits to one person but hopes it doesn’t have to.
“Just come by yourself and conduct business,” he concluded.
Latest News
E-Editions
The coronavirus pandemic and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s executive orders have kept the Warsaw parks quiet so far this spring, but soon – little by little – they may be filled with the echoes of joy again.
Holcomb on Friday announced his five stages of reopening the state. On Wednesday, during the weekly press briefing in city hall, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer previewed the city’s tentative plan to reopen the city and its recreation facilities. County Commissioner Brad Jackson also explained the county’s plan to reopen.
“The governor’s plan and the local plans ... we’re still kind of in our final stages. We’ve had two meetings this week with department heads since last Friday. We continue to take information from them. I think we’ve got a pretty good graph started, and we’ll talk about some of the details this morning,” Thallemer said.
He reminded the public that the plan is only “as good as our progress.” The state is only in Stage 2 of 5 now, and Thallemer said the city wasn’t going to look much further than that for the moment. “The important thing is, we’ve got to continue our diligence in Stage 2.”
The city has been open for business, by phone, text, email or website and provides the necessary services, with the only difference that the public buildings have been closed, Thallemer said, adding that they will remain closed until June 1. At that point, the buildings will reopen, but with restrictions including the public will be required to wear masks. Public meetings will continue to be virtual through June 4, but Thallemer said he’d like to continue to have them virtually beyond that if possible.
City employees will be fully scheduled beginning the week of May 18-22.
“How we move ahead is going to be based on the four metrics that the state set up, and also looking at our countywide and regional statistics,” Thallemer said. “If we need to dial things back a bit, with the expertise of our county health department and looking at these metrics, we will not hesitate to dial back if we feel we need to, but we need to have these plans set out so we have something to work from.”
The further out the stages go, the more tentative they are, he said, because “we don’t know what’s going to happen in June, we don’t know what’s going to happen in July. We can only hope what we want to happen then.”
Looking at Stages 2 and 3, which come with restrictions, he said the Warsaw Parks & Recreation Department will probably come out with a matrix of its own with activities and restrictions later this week.
He touched on a few of those, noting that everything is subject to change as conditions dictate.
“We’re looking at reopening our playgrounds, as directed by the governor, in Stage 3, which would be May 25, which would include tennis and pickleball. We’re going to keep the basketball courts closed because we don’t like we’ve got an opportunity to control social distancing. Tentatively, we may open those up in Stage 4,” Thallemer said.
Asked why playgrounds were going to be open – with kids touching and crawling all over the equipment with other kids – but basketball courts – generally with older kids and/or adults – weren’t going to be open as soon, Thallemer said, “We’re going to take a look at that. Again, with these restrictions, nothing has been finalized. We were just looking more at the dates and basing them off of – I believe the governor allowed playgrounds to be open at a certain time, and I believe that was Stage 3. And we looked at potentially waiting until the next stage to do basketball courts because of congregating that occurs, and that’s close physical contact on a basketball court.”
He said that doesn’t mean the parks couldn’t open up the basketball courts for people to “shoot around,” but that’s a difficult issue. “I’m not slamming the door on opening those when the playgrounds open. We’re just trying to think through the best way to do that to, again, not promote what’s going on as far as the spread,” he said.
Thallemer said they didn’t want to promote social activities too prematurely.
“So that’s our rational. I know it’s not easy. I wish the timing were better,” he said, adding that things could change.
The state is allowing the city to open up its campgrounds for seasonal rentals only, beginning May 25.
Potentially, outdoor picnic shelters will not open up until June 15 as far as rentals go, and those will be limited to 50% capacity.
As far as the Parks Department’s other rentals – Center Lake Pavilion, Fireman’s Building, Nye Youth Cabin, Lucerne Amphitheater – Thallemer said they will remain closed until Stage 5, which is scheduled for July 5.
“We potentially will resume our Friday Night Concert Series July 4 with social distancing,” Thallemer said.
He later clarified that the concert series does not include the Classic Rock Concert, Country Concert and Blues & BBQ as those are separate concerts and have been cancelled for 2020.
The Friday Night Series is typically in Central Park Plaza, a smaller venue, behind Glover Pavilion. Most years it starts in June but was pushed back into early to mid July.
“That’s far enough away that that’s our plan, but we are not totally committed to that until we see where we’re at after we get through these first couple of stages,” Thallemer said.
Tentatively, Hire Park BMX track will open in Stage 4, with potential practice sooner by appointment with a small group.
“This year, we decided to put a moratorium on leasing out our picnic tables and sawhorse tables, given the concerns,” Thallemer said.
Beaches will remain closed until potentially June 15. “We’re not sure exactly how that is going to look, but that’s the date we’re kind of looking toward,” he said.
Mantis Skate Park will not open until July 4, with restrictions.
“A lot of what I’ve mentioned is tentative, with more details to follow. The parks will come out with a matrix that talks about these different recreational activities and spaces. Like everything else, we’re trying to look at how we can reopen. The dates are tentative. Period. The restrictions have not been finalized,” Thallemer said.
Jackson reported the county has tried to implement plans ahead of time so it’s not taken by surprise, and so far that’s worked. As an example of that, he noted the county contracted with an outside professional cleaning service so that if it has anybody test positive for COVID-19, the cleaning service would come in and clean that area.
He said starting May 11, the county will have all of its “team” back in working, but will still only be open to the public by appointment. Then on May 18, the county will reopen to the public, with each department head deciding the best way for their employees to interact with the public, whether that’s tables in the hallway, plexiglass or whatever.
“But the one thing, I’d really like to stress and get out to the public, is we’re asking, please – when you have to go to the courthouse to conduct business, whatever that might be – please come alone. Don’t make it a family outing and bring a bunch of people along,” Jackson said.
If that becomes a problem, he said the county may start to restrict visits to one person but hopes it doesn’t have to.
“Just come by yourself and conduct business,” he concluded.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092