Parks and Recreation Department Update September 2026
Parks:
- Forestry Management Project –Still in Progress. I understand there are Community members have expressed some concern which I am always willing to look into and consider. We are in the process of a Long Environmental Assessment process which needs to be completed so we are not on any planning board agendas anytime soon. The majority of people do understand the type of project we are pursuing was always with good intent from the beginning, which is primarily to manage the parks, to ensure public safety in both our current trails, as well as our powerline infrastructure going up to camp, remove invasive species, enhance the local ecosystem and encourage natural regeneration, this is normally considered a valid park maintenance project that is discussed among Recreation Professionals on a regular basis.
- Trail System – On hold until results of the forestry project are determined. Either way, a plan will be submitted at some point after the new year
- Bike Pad – Paving has been completed and the painting is 80% complete. Unfortunately, the weather did slow us down a bit with the painting portion of the job
- Stage – The research not going as easy as I would have liked. Most options, whether mobile or fixed are a considerable amount money. We will continue researching.
- Front Field – In the process of getting estimates for several different option on how to proceed. Also, very early in the process and should be able to present those options over the next few months
Programs – With the summer programming officially over, we have moved on to the afterschool and adult programs. We are currently running anywhere from 10-15 programs at a time. Our Basketball Program preparation and registration will start in the next few days. Once again, I urge you to pay attention to the upcoming deadlines, that will be out within the next few days on the website and social media.
We are also starting the planning for our 2 remaining events of the year which are the Harvest Fest on October 16th and our Winter Holiday event in the park. Information on both of those to follow and will be posted on both the website and social media pages
Children Center/ camp – We’ve concluded a great camp season. Our staff receives countless compliments, and even in the face of a few emergencies, they performed their responsivities as outlined in our emergency plans perfectly. Just a great job all around.
Children Center has begun and is going well, but we do need staff. Unfortunately, if we cannot consistently staff according to our requirements, we may need to downsize. This would be unfortunate as this program is often at capacity.
