Recreation committee to seek funding
EAST LIVERPOOL — City council’s recreation/ordinance committee will be seeking funding from at least two sources to upgrade playgrounds with new equipment and other improvements.
During a meeting Thursday, Chairman Ernest Peachey reported that state Rep. Tim Ginter has asked for information about the needs of city playgrounds so that grant funding might be made available.
Peachey said the Fulmer Park facility “looks the worst” of all the facilities and showed a photo of a play station and swing set he would like to consider for installation at the location, saying the cost is between $17,000 and $18,000, with some pieces costing as much as $30,000.
The Fulmer Park lot is about 10,000 square feet Service-Safety Director Brian Allen advised the committee, saying there isn’t much that can be done with a crumbling wall in the playground other than take it down.
He said trees will be trimmed from the top of the wall but said a crack in it has been there since he was a kid.
Allen said he has talked with Municipal Court officials and a program will be reinstituted that will allow fine workers to cut grass and do other work in the community, which he said he hopes to see in place in the next 30 days.
“Ideally, you need someone in the neighborhood to take charge of that playground. Playgrounds have always been attractive for people who live there, but in recent years, they’ve become huge magnets for trouble,” Allen said. “You need to get the community to take some ownership. City government can’t be everywhere all the time.”
Allen told the committee that Mayor Ryan Stovall has a “whole packet full” of information about establishing neighborhood watch organizations, and the committee agreed to pursue that idea.
The committee also agreed to send information to Ginter about Fulmer Park in an attempt to secure funding and to also apply to Heritage Thermal Services for environmental grants it awards each year.