Panel discusses American Legion Park details

By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1

With a special-called meeting having taken place only two weeks before, Monday evening’s regular meeting of the Glasgow Common Council Parks and Recreation Committee was mostly focused on one thing.

Eddie Furlong, director of the Glasgow Parks and Recreation Department, provided further updates on the construction at American Legion Park and answered questions from committee members and guests on the same subject.

He first discussed Joyce Driver’s disbelief when he met with her to tell her he wanted to name the aquatic center under construction at that park after her because of all she’d done in her 40 years of working for the former city pool and his department in general. He said some of her family members had to tell her as well before she would believe it, but then she was “superexcited” about it.

The committee had voted unanimously two weeks ago to go forward with the naming, but he had wanted to meet with her about it before it went to the full council for approval. Immediately following this regular committee meeting, the full council, with all nine members present, unanimously approved a resolution naming the Joyce Driver Aquatic Center. Driver and some of her family members were present at that meeting, and she was met with a standing ovation after the vote was finished.

“I thank you guys for going along with that,” Furlong told the committee.

As for the park construction itself, he told the panel – council members Chasity Lowery, Tommy Burris, Terry Bunnell and Freddie Norris – and guests, including Councilman Randy Wilkinson, that the crews were still “pecking along on the list.”

“I think we’re still, what, at least a month away – at least – but we’ll see. Hopefully, we’ll have some good weather between now and then, but it’s coming along,” Furlong said.

When it became increasingly clear the aquatic center wasn’t going to be ready for use soon enough before the end of the summer season, the decision was made a few weeks ago not to try to open it for just a brief period. Instead, city officials are planning to host an open house of sorts to show community members what they can look forward to next year. The walking trails and pickleball courts are expected to be open this fall once this phase of construction is wrapped up.

Glasgow Common Council Parks and Recreation Committee members, from left, Chasity Lowery, Tommy Burris and Terry Bunnell listen as Eddie Furlong speaks during the committee’s meeting Monday evening. Melinda J. Overstreet / for Glasgow News 1

“Both big slides are completely done,” he said of the two taller, twisty and intermingled slides, one orange and one green.

He said that he’d found out that day when he stopped by the park that a shipping mix-up had occurred with the lower-height family slide that will be wide enough for people to slide together. One of the pieces had accidentally been shipped elsewhere, so the pieces they received were mismatched. Another one was to be produced early this week, and it is expected to arrive within a week or so after that, he said.

“The group that was here putting the slides in will be back in a week to finish the family slide,” Furlong said. “All the play features are up except for one little piece that goes at the very shallow end, and it doesn’t go in until the pool gets painted.”

The play features to which he referred are all in the zero-depth entry pool area, and they include a bucket that will dump water and a small slide.

“It’s coming along pretty well. All the concrete around the pool is done. Most of the walkways are done. They still have to do sidewalks, the parking lot and all that, but they can’t do that until a lot of those crews [and machinery] get out of the way,” Furlong said.

There’s still rock and asphalt to put down as well, he said, plus a lot of cleanup and finishing details.

The asphalt for the pickleball courts, which are at the front of the park in the vicinity of where the pool used to be, is already down, and he’s been told it needs to sit for 28 days before they come back and put on the final surfacing and paint.

“They did put the park sign up this morning, so if you drive by, you’ll see it says ‘American Legion Park,’ and then underneath it, we have an LED sign. This will be the first one that we’ve had,” he said.

He said that after the council vote on the aquatic center naming, he would start talking to sign companies about the signs for that part – one on the building and one near the road at the front of the park.

Bunnell said he liked the lighting fixtures for the four pickleball courts. Furlong said there are two types of pole fixtures – the shorter ones that are on and around those courts and will be around the pool and the taller ones that will be around the parking lot, driveway and road, and they’re all LED.

He added that there’s still a lot of painting to do as well.

Bunnell said it was interesting that this was their first major park renovation.

Furlong said Beaver Creek Park opened in 1998, and the one before that was American Legion Park in 1975.

Lowery asked about how it went with a planned visit to Bowling Green to find out how some things are done at Russell Sims Aquatic Center, and Furlong said he and another staff member went there the prior Monday. He reported on discussions about what they do when capacity is reached, how party groups are handled, etc.

He said he’s asked for confirmation on what the capacity will be at this center, because he was beginning to doubt the correctness of the numbers he’d seen and reported before.

Furlong said they’ll still need to decide on things like group rates, and Bunnell asked whether he was still good with the season-pass rate he had suggested previously.
“I think so,” Furlong said.

At that previous meeting, the information distributed was that the old family season pass price was $150 for up to four members of the same household and $25 for each additional person. The tentative price for such a pass at the new facility would be $300 for the first four people and $50 for each additional person. Individual season passes were $100, and that would possibly go to $150.

An early-bird sale price may be offered for individual and family season passes.

As discussion ensued on that pricing, Lowery said she wouldn’t want to see it any higher than it is, because she wouldn’t want kids to miss out if they can’t afford it.

They talked about how many times a family would need to go for the pass to pay for itself – about nine times.

“Based on the breakdown, I think it makes sense,” Furlong said.
“Sounds reasonable,” Bunnell said.

Furlong also noted again that the costs will be higher for lifeguards, because they’ll have to have more of them, and other items as well.

“I don’t think the public has to pay for all of that, but at the same time, it’s just something that we are doing,” he said.

Other topics of discussion spurred by questions pertained to whether the lights were automatic or on a switch, warranties, the lifespan of the pickleball courts, pool management and pool maintenance knowledge and training for employees.

David Curran, program director for the department, will be the park manager, Furlong said, but he added that they’ll need one or two assistants.