Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks Maintenance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parks staff report: repairs, vandalism and grant updates; T-SET application pending
Summary
Parks staff reported winter freeze damage to plumbing at Guthrie Lake, repairs completed at Highland Park, pond renovation work at the cemetery, playground vandalism at Mitchell Park and other aging-playground concerns. Staff also confirmed a T-SET grant application for pickleball courts at Mineral Wells was submitted and remains under review.
Parks staff used the March 15 meeting to report maintenance work, vandalism, and grant updates across city parks and to request assistance for some larger tasks.
Maintenance and repairs: Staff said winter freeze and a related power outage damaged heaters and plumbing at Guthrie Lake’s mechanical room; those systems are under repair. Highland Park experienced pipe breakage during cold weather but staff said Highland is now open after repairs. Staff also reported routine tasks — dead tree removals in several parks are largely complete except for Mineral Wells, where additional street-department assistance is requested.
Pond renovation and picnic tables: Staff reported they cleaned and repainted a cemetery pond, removed a few trees to open sightlines and will address picnic-table maintenance in other parks.
Playground vandalism and aging equipment: The parks team said vandals used a torch on playground equipment at Mitchell Park; although staff assess the structures as safe to use, parts are obsolete and replacement pieces are not available, which limits repair options. Staff noted several playground systems (Highland Park, Mitchell Park, Ritzock Park and Lyons Park) are about 25 years old and may need future replacements rather than part-by-part repair.
Grant updates: Staff said they submitted a T-SET grant application for pickleball courts at Mineral Wells (an application described in the meeting as $100,000 annually for two years) and that the application is under review; staff noted Dan Cassick, the planning director, is leading that submittal.
Other notes: Staff described routine event support (Renaissance fair, the Mid South bicycle event) and said they are addressing occasional maintenance missteps such as a dye incident that was corrected. Board members thanked staff for ongoing work and asked for continued vigilance on vandalism and aging infrastructure.
Follow-up: Staff requested support from the street department on larger tree removals and said they will continue to prioritize repairs and long-term planning for obsolete playground systems.
