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Parks staff report: Christmas lights up, pond safety warning and new website launch Jan. 5
Summary
Parks staff told the Martinsville City board that holiday lights are installed and operating, staff noted flooding and damage to displays and posted a warning after footage showed someone on the frozen pond; the department said a new website will launch Jan. 5 with bookings to follow.
Parks staff reported on seasonal operations and public-safety issues at the Dec. 16 meeting of the Martinsville City Parks and Recreation Board.
Ashley said the department finished installing Christmas lights and that they are functioning despite weather-related challenges: "those are up and on, and they look great" (SEG 169-173). She said staff experienced flooding in park areas, ordered no‑flooding signs and noted incidents of vehicles damaging displays. Ashley also said staff posted a warning after obtaining footage of “someone running across the ice in the pond,” and that signs were being ordered for the pond because it is “very dangerous” for anyone to be on that ice (SEG 184-195).
Operational updates included ordering replacement tracks for the skid steer, work on cleaning and reorganizing the shop and storage for holiday totes, and coordinating with the contractor My Guy Services on venue decorations (SEG 196-206; SEG 199-203). Ashley said the department’s new website will go live on Jan. 5; at that time the department will begin taking bookings for the 2026 season (SEG 222-226). She also noted that shelter bookings were light in November because decorations block availability but that bookings increase near the holidays (SEG 243-250).
Board members praised the holiday kickoff event and those who helped run it. No public safety actions beyond signage and online warnings were proposed during the meeting. The board moved on to other agenda items after the facility report.
