Parks Board Fashioning To-Do List For Central Park Projects
Parks Board Fashioning To-Do List For Central Park Projects
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Dan Spalding-dspalding@timesuniononline.com
Parks Board Fashioning To-Do List For Central Park ProjectsNow that the city of Warsaw has embraced a long list of possible changes around Central Park, it’s time to start making a to-do list.
Members of the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board were encouraged to write down what they see as priorities for changes and then discussed those Tuesday afternoon. They also began making some preliminary moves.
A long list of possible changes that would dramatically change much of the park property surrounding Central Park was developed by Design Collaborative of Fort Wayne earlier this year and have been embraced by the park board, which incorporated the ideas into its master plan.
Topping the list is the relocating of the parks office from its longtime home on Canal Street in light of the upcoming redevelopment project on North Buffalo Street near Center Lake. The office falls within the scope of the project and will need to be relocated.
Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said he still does not have a specific idea on when the office will need to be relocated, but proposed the best choice for a temporary home would be at the Pete Thorn building on Park Avenue.
Exactly how soon the office and its five employees will have to move remains unclear. Plummer said the last range he heard could be as soon as three months and as long as more than a year.
Plummer has said he would like to see the office permanently moved into the Center Lake Pavilion after the pavilion is renovated.
Renovating the pavilion is another item on the list of changes. The park board agreed Monday to spend upward of $15,000 for a schematic drawing, which would detail proposed changes of the pavilion. Design Collaborative will do the work. Plummer said the design will provide a rough estimate of the cost.
The next priority outlined by the board was the purchase of the gas station property at the corner of Canal and North Detroit streets. The station is currently closed. If the city can acquire the land, officials would like to see the addition of a deceleration lane for southbound traffic that would be part of an improved entrance into the park.
The third suggestion was the movement of the Center Lake pier. The existing pier has a solid foundation and causes water to somewhat stagnate, which encourages development of e.coli. A new pier would be located further to the east.
Board members expressed an interest in also moving forward with development of a boardwalk, which would run along part of the southern shores of Center Lake within the park.
Some concerns were voiced by the board over potential costs associated with operating a proposed open-air building, which would also likely house an ice rink. Tentatively, according to Design Collaborative, the building would be constructed to the west of the pavilion.
The board discussed the idea of seeking a cost study that would look at various issues, including the cost of maintaining and operating the ice rink and personnel costs, among others. Plummer said expanding park services to include an ice rink would require more employees.
Some park board members voiced concern over whether the building would consume too much park space at its proposed location.
“There’s just a lot more information we need,” Plummer said this morning. “They obviously put it down low on the priority list. I think it goes on the backburner for a bit until we find some more information.”
In other matters,
• Plummer said the storm warning equipment has been installed and is operational at Center Lake beach, Pike Lake beach, the Pike Lake campground and Glover Pavilion in Central Park.
Signs will soon be erected near the devices to explain details. The iStrike lightning alert system tracks nearby storms, sends out an audible warning to park patrons and also sends alerts to certain park employees, including Plummer.
• Plummer said new playground equipment for Kelly Park has arrived and will be installed next spring. The equipment is valued at $90,000, but the city was able to get it for about $45,000 by participating in a grant program.
