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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark Report December 2008Park Report December 2008 Crews are waiting for colder weather to begin flooding the ice rinks. The crew has begun to pack the snow, yet it is apparent we need more snow for a base. One of the more popular web site destinations is the Parks Division “ice rink update” page. We will now be sending our rink information daily to Marina in IT. We will commence the updates once we start the rinks. Hopefully, everyone is aware that if it is in the 50’s during the day and gets down to 35 at night, then we won’t be making much headway on the rinks. The playground equipment has been ordered for Bogert Park and North Meadows. We will be taking down the old playground at Bogert after ice rink season. Before we do this, of course we will notify the public. The hockey boards will be installed, hopefully, this weekend by volunteers at Bogert. The parks division graciously put up the sound mitigation boards for the volunteer group. As stated previously, when it gets cold, we will begin to flood. Crews are busy with snow removal on sidewalks, shop projects including garbage rack construction, picnic table/ bleacher repair and totems for trails, just to name a few. As usual, garbage and dog station maintenance are a steady component to the park division’s daily routine. Ron, Doug and I have been going through the operating budget looking for areas we can trim or save money. Due to the economic slowdown, we have been really scrutinizing the budget and trying to become imaginative on where we can save but yet still do a great job. Notice for Park Improvement Grant applications will go out next week. We had a slight reduction in the amount we can award due to the Air Handler situation at the Swim Center. All in all, we do have $83,600 to award for parkland improvements. The climbing boulder is complete at the Bozeman Ponds, with the structure being “burrito wrapped” during the curing phase. All that needs to be done now is a slight expansion of the fall zone and the addition of engineered wood fiber. This will be done, most likely in the spring by the parks division. The Frisbee golf course at Rose is really starting to take shape. Tee boxes, baskets and limited irrigation have been installed. The parks division has mowed the entire park and will emphasize weed eradication in the spring along with grass propagation. The goal during the next year is to “grow in” the park which will give it a more definable, mature look. It needs to be pointed out that the native/drought tolerant grasses take much longer to establish, due to their non- rhizomatous nature. (If you are not a turf geek, like me, that means it is a bunch grass that typically does not spread or “creep”, therefore it will not produce a tight knit turf canopy, like a bluegrass lawn) The parks crew recently hauled bleachers to the Haynes pavilion to provide seating for the Icedogs games.