Green City Parks and Recreation Board elects Sean McDaniel chair, Dan Pollock vice chair; hears project updates

The Green City Parks and Recreation Board on Feb. 4 elected Sean McDaniel as chair and Dan Pollock as vice chair and heard staff reports on several park projects, including a proposed shade-sail installation at the amphitheater, plans for an inclusive playground at Kleckner Park and delivery dates for a prefabricated restroom building at Creekbond Park.

The meeting opened with roll call and a nomination process for officers. A board member nominated McDaniel for chair; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. Dan Pollock was nominated for vice chair, seconded and likewise approved by roll call. The outgoing presiding member then turned the meeting over to McDaniel.

Board staff delivered the bulk of the meeting’s updates. Valerie, a parks department staff member, said the CORE facility is seeing membership growth and that a large basketball tournament over the weekend ran smoothly and generated new memberships. “We were doing very well,” Valerie said, noting an increase in SilverSneakers enrollment, which provides a revenue stream for the facility.

Parks operations staff (Mike) presented details about the amphitheater shade-sail proposal and associated schedule and cost estimates. "Initial preliminary cost for this is north of $90,000," Mike said. The design described uses five poles requiring concrete footers; sails would be custom-cut and manufactured after poles are set. Staff are awaiting a second vendor quote and plan to seek an appropriation from City Council’s Parks Capital Fund and award a contract under cooperative purchasing rules if pricing is acceptable. The goal is to have poles installed before the June 6 event, with the sails arriving afterward.

Mike also said the city’s Deputy Director of Public Service has completed specifications for new amphitheater sound and lighting and staff are awaiting pricing before posting the project for bid, with the same June 6 target for installation if schedules permit.

On Kleckner Park and Collector Park projects, staff said the Green Leadership Team and community fundraisers have committed more than $14,000 toward a pavilion at Collector Park. Environmental Design Group is preparing a comprehensive improvement plan that will include the pavilion and a playground. The pavilion is planned to be constructed by Portage Lakes Career Center students, with a local contractor donating a standing-seam metal roof and labor. A board member praised the project’s community collaboration.

Creekbond Park will receive a prefabricated concrete restroom building; staff reported that sanitary sewer and water lines have been installed and the building is scheduled for delivery March 9–16, with the aim of having restrooms available for spring baseball and softball. Collector Park restrooms—part of a bus-garage project—were reported to be on track for a mid‑summer opening if schedules allow.

Board members questioned whether the planned inclusive playground at Kleckner would mirror other local sites. Mike said the new playground will have synthetic turf (no mulch) and design features such as a ramp-accessible "360" slide so children using wheelchairs can access play elements and join others. Staff said they will pursue several funding sources, including a NatureWorks application, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and potential support from Community Fund Ohio; they noted the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation generally does not fund brand-new playgrounds.

Valerie noted a range of positive developments: a second-place recognition from the Ohio Park and Recreation Association for Collector Field, generally favorable feedback from schools and event organizers after the CORE tournament and ongoing work to complete a final punch list for the new facility.

Under unfinished business the board discussed volunteer representation on related committees including the Southgate Farm committee, planning and zoning and potential ad hoc service to the tree commission; staff said they would confirm ordinance requirements and provide schedules. Staff also proposed an option to move board meetings to every other month to reduce sessions made up largely of updates, asking members to consider the idea.

A motion to adjourn was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: The board approved the election of Sean McDaniel as chair (roll-call vote: Jennifer Foster — yes; Michael Griggs — yes; Chrissy Kuznick — yes; Sean McDaniel — yes; Dan Pollock — yes) and Dan Pollock as vice chair with the same roll-call outcome. The board also approved the Nov. 5 meeting minutes and a motion to adjourn.

What’s next: Staff said they will bring funding requests (for example, the amphitheater shade-sail appropriation) to City Council if vendor pricing requires an appropriation. Staff also said they will return with bid documents for sound and lighting when prices are available and will proceed with grant applications for the inclusive playground.