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Parks & Recreation reports strong summer participation, facility upgrades and new projects
Summary
Parks & Recreation Director Kristen Atley told council the department saw high participation in summer camps and leagues, completed several facility upgrades and is proceeding with pickleball courts, Simpson Meeting Room remodel and fall programming.
Kristen Atley, Bowling Green’s Parks and Recreation Director, told City Council Monday that the department ran near-capacity programs this summer, completed multiple facility upgrades and is moving ahead with planned projects.
"The mission of the parks and recreation department is to enhance quality of life through parks, programs, and facilities," Atley said, and then provided program and facility statistics: 131 participants in rec camps (94% capacity), 64 in safety town (91% capacity), 120 in nature camps (100% capacity), 64 in Horizon Youth Theater camps, 268 participants in sports camps and youth leagues, and 8 adult sand-volleyball teams. Fall youth soccer reported 261 participants; youth flag football had 29 and youth volleyball 53.
Atley reported capital and amenities upgrades this season: new benches outside Needle Hall (grant-funded), permanent outdoor speakers at Needle Hall donated after an unsuccessful grant application, new netting and sand for adult sand volleyball courts, and Simpson Meeting Room renovations with acoustic wood panels nearly half installed. Work at the community center included 20th-anniversary celebrations and continued high pool attendance. She said the city’s BGPR Foundation continues to provide financial support and noted 11 parks totaling about 400 acres under department care.
Smaller items Atley mentioned included: a ribbon-cutting planned for the new pickleball courts in October (project still in progress but open for use), a children’s garden and new sculpture dedication at Simpson earlier in the year, and community partnerships with BGSU, BG City Schools and local sports clubs. As a lighthearted detail she reported that the pool concession sold 775 pizzas this season "according to Josh Sheffield," and she prefaced that figure by saying she had not independently fact-checked it.
Atley closed by emphasizing the role of parks and facilities in community events and everyday life and said the department’s fall programs and special events are underway.
