Charles City Parks & Rec Board focuses priority on playground

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Members of the Charles City Parks and Recreation Board have decided to refocus a board priority on creating a new accessible playground, moving away from a skateboard park plan that had been near the top of their list for several years.

The board has potentially $120,000 to put toward a project. That includes $20,000 the board had set aside for a skate park, about $50,000 that it will receive in the next fiscal year’s share of the city hotel and motel tax, plus a $50,000 donation that has been offered by an as-yet-unnamed benefactor.

The donation offer had been made toward a skate park, when the board had still been focusing on that option. But board Chair Jeff Otto, who has been dealing with the potential donor, said he thought that person would be OK with the money going toward an accessible playground if that was now the Park & Rec Board’s choice.

The vote to move away from a skate park – at least for now – was not unanimous, however.

Board member Sarah Barrett voted against the shift in focus, saying she was concerned a skate park provides recreational opportunities to “a whole different kind of kid” who may be less interested in more traditional facilities, and they shouldn’t give up on that idea.

Phoebe Pittman, the Charles City Council liaison to the Parks & Rec Board and a middle school teacher, had done a survey of fifth-through-eighth-grade students, asking about priorities in recreational facilities, and the largest number of responses in each grade was that they would probably not use a skate park.

Barrett said that was likely because they weren’t really familiar with what a skate park is and what it can be used for, because the community hasn’t had one for many years.

Pittman said a large number of students said they would like some sort of outdoor roller skating area, not taking into account that a skate park can be used for more than skateboards.

Although a motion to focus on an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible playground passed, Pittman said she could go back to the students and get more information on what type of roller skating facility they were thinking of.

Parks and Recreation Department Director Tyler Mitchell said the total cost of an ADA-compliant playground would be about $230,000, meaning the board is still well short of having the funds to make it happen.

The board hopes to submit a $100,000 Wellmark grant application that could be aimed at supporting an ADA playground, but there is no guarantee it would be granted.

Mayor Dean Andrews said there are AARP community challenge grants available, and since Charles City has been declared by Iowa AARP as an age-friendly community, it might have an advantage if it applied for one of those grants.

The board members discussed a number of issues involving an accessible playground, including its location.

Mitchell suggested Sportsmen’s Park, but some board members suggested Lions Field Park might be a better location, including because the poor condition of Sportsmen’s parking lot would make it a challenge for access.

Waverly Hill Park needs a new playground, but there isn’t enough space there for an accessible playground, Mitchell said,

He said the playground at Lions Field is old, “but it’s still in pretty good shape.”

“Sportsmen’s is by far the worst shape playground,” he said. If they put a new playground at Sportsmen’s then they would have a new playground there and a good playground at Lions Field. If they put a new playground at Lions Field then they’d have only one good playground between the two sites.

Chair Otto suggested a drop-off spot could be created at Sportsmen’s with good access.

Mitchell said the city had made some progress improving the parking at Sportsmen’s and the city and the Parks and Recreation Department would continue working on it.

Pittman said she would contact some people she knows with accessibility concerns and get their feedback.

The board also spent some time at its meeting early Wednesday evening talking about fundraising in general. The board has not done any fundraising activities for a long time, and there are several projects it is looking at that will require raising money.

In addition to extra funds likely being needed toward a new accessible playground, the board has another priority in creating a splash pad somewhere in the city, and in adding new features to the swimming pool, as well as increasing playground opportunities at other parks.

The City Council recently approved an $800,000 rehabilitation project for the swimming pool, but that will fix current problems and will not add any additional play features. Funding for some new  features is also on the mind of Parks & Rec Board members.

Chair Otto and Director Mitchell suggested a committee of two Parks & Rec Board members and three community members to spearhead fundraising efforts.

Board members Scott Nolte and Cory Mutch were appointed to a fundraising committee, and board members suggested several names for community members, but they had not been contacted yet about being on a committee.

Otto said the committee would make recommendations for fundraising efforts, but the full board would still set the direction for which projects they would try to raise funds for, and once a fundraising effort had been decided upon it would be “all hands on deck” for the board members.