By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Warsaw Parks & Recreation Board on Tuesday, Feb. 16, focused on the 2020 year-end review and the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials reported numerous declines in park rentals last year.

Revenue for the Pike Lake Campground, tables and shelters was down $9,160.72 due to refunding campsite fees because of the pandemic.

“We were restricted on the campgrounds. We were allowed to have three campers there due to the fact that this is their permanent residence,” said Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer. “The rest of them we were not allowed to have them back until the July 4 weekend.”

Plummer said that with the pandemic and refunds, he feels fortunate to only be down $9,000.

“Center Lake Pavilion — we took quite a hit on this. We’re down about $10,000 on this, but that’s due to the pandemic,” Plummer said. “The same way with the Fireman’s building and the Nye Cabin as well.”

Total revenue loss for the Warsaw Parks Department was $35,747. 

“Without renting facilities and not starting on some of them until July, I think we did what we could and salvaged what we could and hopefully we can get back to using some of the facilities,” Plummer said. “It was a tough year, but it could have been worse.”

Parks events were also affected, with numerous events canceled and others held virtually. 

Plummer reviewed collaborations, contracted repair work, donation and grant projects, in-house projects and new equipment purchased during 2020.

Collaborations over the year included working with the city Street Department and Wastewater Department for construction of the asphalt parking lot at Hire Park; Wright Tree Service which allowed for employee training at park sites; Art Commission for installation of an art sculpture memorializing Mary Ellen Rudisal Jordan; Stormwater Department for additional shoreline stabilization at Pike Lake and revitalization of the Kelly Park Pond; and the State of Indiana Health Department to provide testing sites for COVID-19 at the Indiana Street parking lot and later at the Canal Street parking lot.

Contracted repairs included drainage work on the Indiana Street parking lot; exterior cleaning and sealing at the Pete Thorn Center; updating of cameras at Central Park and new camera installation at Glover Pavilion and Biblical Gardens; and schematic design and construction drawings for new parks maintenance/office facility and remodeling of Center Lake Pavilion.

Donation and grant projects included a $3,000 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. The grant funds were used to purchase 30 trees. The parks department purchased an additional 12 trees for a total of 42 trees that were planted at Hire, McKinley, Bixler, Central, Ker, Richardson Dubois, Krebs and Kiwanis parks.

The parks department also received a donation for a water drinking fountain for Ker Park. Indiana American Water donated $2,992.75 to purchase the drinking fountain. This will be installed in the spring of 2021.

As far as in-house projects, park employees removed eight old light poles at Richardson Dubois Park, repaired concrete block mortar joints, stained the restroom building and painted all doors on the Central Park restroom building. 

They replaced all countertops at the Fireman’s Building, continued yearly campground updating by replacing all sewer hookups and reconditioning all floating piers at Pike Lake Campground and installed split rail fence at the new Kelly Park sledding hill parking lot and Kiwanis Park.

Park employees also installed protective covering over the chain-link fence at Kelly Park pickleball courts, installed an inchworm climber at Kiddlieland and repaired and leveled concrete wall and pavers at Central Park Plaza and Glover Pavilion.

Major work was done at Ker Park in 2020 where park employees removed the old playground and picnic tables, old cracked concrete sidewalk and two dead trees. They installed new sidewalks, picnic tables, bench swings, a new water hydrant, drains and timber perimeter for the new playground.

Park employees also reconstructed flower beds at several parks.

“However, we struggle with our downtown flower beds due to citizens using those beds for animal restrooms,” Plummer said. “It’s hard enough to grow plants and trees in a contained area with limited water, let alone the soil being used as a restroom.”

New equipment purchases in 2020 included the annual Bobcat trade-in, new pickup truck to replace an old fleet truck, new electrician van and new mower bagger

Besides caring for 80 planting beds in the downtown area with daily watering and weeding as well as weekly fertilization, tree pruning and bed cleanup, park employees remove trash from the downtown receptacles daily. Even with the pandemic and shutdown of facilities, park employees collected 73 tons of garbage and 120 doggy bags on the Beyer Trail and trail west of Zimmer Biomet in 2020.

The parks department assisted 27 residents through the driveway assistance program, which allows for the elderly or disabled to apply for parks crews to clean the entrance of their driveway when it snows.  Parks employees also plow all municipal parking lots as well as the parks department rental facilities and parking lots.

Winona Lake Town Council President Rick Swaim requested that the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board honor Mike Metzger, who founded and ran Pickleball Phanatics in Warsaw. Metzger passed away last month.

Swaim suggested naming the Kelly Park pickleball courts after Metzger.

“Mike has done a lot to establish pickleball in our area over the past 10 years,” Swaim said.

“As far as naming courts or anything like that after people, we’ve never let that be done,” said Warsaw Parks Board President Steve Haines.

Plummer said he would be more inclined to see a plaque hung at Kelly Park dedicated in Metzger’s memory rather than naming the courts after him or having something stenciled on the courts.

“I truly believe that we wouldn’t be where we’re at without Mike’s guidance,” Plummer said.

Swaim said he believes pickleball players in the area would be willing to raise funds for the cost of the plaque.

This request was tabled until next month when Swaim will return with a suggestion for wording and design for the plaque.

In other news:

• The next regular meeting will be 5:15 p.m. March 16.