Parks staff report busy spring: playgrounds, maintenance building excavation and pickleball court painting underway

Parks and recreation staff told the Troy Board of Park Commissioners on June 9 that the department is managing multiple projects this summer, including playground installs, a maintenance building excavation and temporary closures for court maintenance.

Parks staff member Drake said the department took delivery of new playground equipment for Duke Park but delayed installation a few weeks while they seek grant funding for inclusive safety surfacing. “We’ve actually pushed that install out just a little bit. We've applied for some grant funding for, safety surfacing…so it'd be a completely 100% inclusive playground with the…turf, safety surfacing,” Drake said. He also said the Herlanger Park playground installation is complete and that concrete sidewalks and fencing to separate the playground from Union Street will be added.

Drake reported that excavation for a new maintenance building at Duke Park is underway and crews are addressing unstable soil: contractors excavated four feet and are recompacting soil before further work. He said, if the crew can get four dry days in a row, that stage of work could be completed within about a week and construction on the new building would proceed.

Staff also announced that pickleball courts would be closed for a week while fences are painted and signs and court numbers removed for the work; crews began removing items from the fences ahead of painting. Parks staff thanked crews for festival setup and cleanup after a recent Strawberry Festival that proceeded despite rain.

Staff urged residents to complete the parks-and-recreation master-plan survey; Drake said outreach at a recent downtown event and a mayoral social post had boosted awareness. No formal board action was required on the routine status updates.