Infusion of Capital Funds Will Support, Enhance Maintenance of City Parks

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 25, 2013

For more information, please contact:

Mick Renneisen, Director, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, 349.3700 or renneism@bloomington.in.gov

Infusion of Capital Funds Will Support, Enhance Maintenance of City Parks

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department announced today its plans to request an appropriation from the Bloomington City Council for nearly $1 million to conduct needed repairs and maintenance work in more than 16 different City parks and facilities.

Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department operations staff studied the most pressing maintenance needs of the 41 park sites and more than 2,000 acres in the City park system to determine where the capital dollars should be spent. Staff also evaluated public comments and feedback about parks facilities in developing the capital maintenance plan. Parks and Recreation Department Director Mick Renneisen said the projects on the list will take place in parks throughout the City and that many City residents will see the results of the appropriation.

"Our citizens told us, overwhelmingly, in our 2011 citizen survey that they want us to maintain our existing parks," Renneisen said. "What we learned from that survey, plus the combination of creative thinking, collaborative effort, and good fortune, has resulted in this substantial investment in our City parks."

"Ensuring that Bloomington residents get the most out of their tax investments is our responsibility," Mayor Mark Kruzan said. "We plan these improvements on what is most important to users of the parks."

The City of Bloomington has, in recent years, acquired park property, set aside greenspace, and built new trails and playgrounds, but the focus of this plan is to tend to existing parks.

"The City of Bloomington is dedicated to keeping our parks well maintained and beautiful for the taxpayers that use them," Mayor Kruzan said.

Projects included in the Parks and Recreation Department's capital plan include:

• Banneker Community Center - remodel restroom facilities

• Bloomington Rail Trail - signs and pavement markings

• Bryan Park - remodel restrooms, new playground surfacing, repair tennis courts

• Reverend Butler Park - pave trail

• Cascades Golf Course - pave cart paths

• Leonard Springs Nature Park - construct a trail bridge

• Lower Cascades Park ballfields - remodel restroom, replace backstops and bleachers, install safety netting

• Miller-Showers Park - repair pond spillway

• Park Ridge Park - replace playground, repair basketball court

• Park Ridge East Park - repair tennis courts

• Peoples Park - replace lighting

• RCA Community Park - repair tennis courts, re-line for Pickleball

• Sherwood Oaks Park - install tennis practice backboard

• The Waldron, Hill, and Buskirk Park - install playground fencing, landscaping

• Twin Lakes Sports Park - replace backstops, install safety netting, install shade structures

• Winslow Sports Complex - repave parking lot, replace scoreboards, pave fitness trail, repair tennis courts, install shade structures, install safety netting, replace backstops, replace bleachers on senior baseball fields

Additional funding is slated for amenities like drinking fountains and park benches to be added to and replaced in City parks.

For more information about the Parks and Recreation Department's capital maintenance plan, contact Director Mick Renneisen at 349.3700 or via e-mail at renneism@bloomington.in.gov.

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