Calvert City staff update members on park improvements, grants and amenities

Calvert City staff briefed members on a range of park projects and amenity proposals, from newly opened pickleball courts and an awarded paving contract to pending grant applications and holiday lighting ideas.

The parks staff member said pickleball courts are "up and running," the paving contract for the quad was awarded to Central Paving, and the band-cage netting has been reinstalled. Staff also said vendors have been contacted for lighting in a new east-side section of Memorial Park and an additional crosswalk light. Regarding funding, staff said the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) application is still pending and that if LWCF is awarded it would enable a second grant to cover most of a roughly $130,000 project with a modest local match.

Members also discussed potential holiday features (walk-through lights in Memorial Park and drive-through displays in Old Park), a QR-code photo activation, public art such as murals and nature-scape seating, and where to place new amenities in the south end of Memorial Park. The parks staff member cautioned about the expense and staffing obligations of installing a municipal pool that could compete with local private pools and said outdoor exercise-equipment procurement is on hold until the state auditor’s concerns about cooperative purchasing are resolved.

Several minor maintenance items were raised in new business, including missing mirrors in amphitheater and splash-pad restrooms, vandalism in park bathrooms, powder-coating for skate-park equipment as a next-year budget item, signage for no-dog/no-skateboard areas, and consideration of water bottle filling stations at high-use sites.

Staff will incorporate these project and maintenance priorities into budget planning and return with more detailed cost estimates.