The City of Salem’s parks and recreation board held a workshop July 29 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory to discuss an update regarding the Alice Lou Craig Municipal swimming pool, and discussion of the board’s three to five year plan.
Members present included Crystal Pilkington, Angie Curley, Luke Heithold, and Carlos Lopez. Parks director Melissa DuBois, alderwoman Kala Sisco, and alderman Shawn Bolerjack were also in attendance.
Pool update
DuBois delivered an update on the municipal swimming pool and its repair progress. Westport pools’ subcontractor reported that it has completely torn out the initial membrane and felt. The rock wall had to come down, and every ladder had to be removed. All kiddie pool features had to be removed for the liner’s replacement, as well. DuBois detailed that, in order to begin repairs, most of the pool’s features had to be stripped by the subcontractor. The process of laying the new membrane down has begun, said DuBois, but it’s a meticulous process.
“It’s a process and it’s happening,” reported DuBois. “They’re really trying to beat the heat, so they’re there really late at night.”
Westport had reported repairs would take approximately a month, stated DuBois, depending on the weather. The warranty for repairs will be 10 years. In terms of preventative actions for staff to take, in case of another hailstorm, Westport recommended keeping water in the pool—but not completely full. Due to the potential for drains freezing and bursting, there is a certain amount of water to not go above, said DuBois.
After a round of questions regarding pool maintenance and preventative measures staff could take, DuBois suggested inviting a Westport representative to come to a parks board meeting. DuBois will be reaching out to Westport for that potential meeting.
DuBois also mentioned that the parks are having an issue with wasps, including hornets and yellow jackets. DuBois would like anyone that discovers a nest to contact the parks department, 573-729-6290.
The parks would like to know of any nest being present on the park’s facilities and promise it will address and remove the nests immediately—make sure that the park’s department is informed of the exact locations of nests.
Sisco also suggested contacting the city administrator’s office, 573-729-4811. The city administrator will ensure that DuBois is contacted.
Old Fairground property
The plan for the Old Fairground property is uncertain. Heithold will be working on layouts in order to come up with constructive actions to take regarding the property’s future uses. The plan for the property has been to turn it into a soccer complex, but DuBois suggested an alternative route—that the property be used for tennis courts, or even a pickle ball court, rather than a soccer field.
“We have a lot of acreage [at Al Brown],” said DuBois, suggesting Al Brown be used for soccer. “And we can adapt the fields to whatever we need them to be, and I still have one other softball field that we don’t put games on at all.”
To that point, she stated that if the high school were to make a soccer team, Al Brown features enough space to make a regulation field; meanwhile, if the Old Fairground’s property were turned into a soccer complex, the parking space would be limited, she said.
An attendee suggested that the parks board put out a survey or poll to the community in order to gauge interest and opinions regarding future improvements to the parks, including the Old Fairground Property. The board was receptive to the idea.
Next the parks board meet, Heithold hopes to present a soccer field complex layout and an idealized tennis/pickle ball court layout for the Old Fairgrounds property, with assistance from DuBois. DuBois discussed a vision for the property that included creating a natural space, with plenty of native plants and the possibility of a duck pond with water feature, along with the courts.
“Speaking for majority of the [board of Aldermen], we would like to see some kind of plan together, so that it’s not an empty piece of property,” said Sisco.
Three to five year plan
DuBois presented to the board a few things that are planned to be completed within the parks department within the next year or so, including:
• Pool liner replacement
• Pool filter media replacement
• Updates to Al Brown’s concession building
• Roof replacement at city park concessions and restrooms
• Bleacher replacements at Al Brown
• Pool lighting
At the next meeting, the parks board hopes to present actionable items for consideration. In the meantime, DuBois presented a wish list containing items that the Salem parks need to ensure maintenance and upkeep of current facilities:
• Increasing security cameras and lighting in the park to increase safety measures for kids in the community—this would include needing to come up with a Wi-Fi strategy, to ensure communication between security cameras.
• Increasing lighting as people enter the park to act as a crime deterrent. This would include wiring and lighting placement.
• Parking lot upgrades for the swimming pool
DuBois also suggested several needed improvements to the Al Brown ballfields, which included:
• Sign and scoreboard improvements
• Shade covering and protection for dugouts
• Planting shade trees
• Concreting batting cages
• Concreting between the Armory and the ballfields
• Fence safety caps on all t-ball fields
• Upgrades to parking at t-ball fields. DuBois met with MDC to discuss potential improvements the parks department could make; MDC suggested planting trees to prevent further erosion.
Meanwhile, DuBois, Heithold, and Lopez also discussed prioritizing bringing adult sport leagues to the city. Heithold cited the children’s programs success and stated he’d like to see more improvements to the parks’ programs for adult and senior citizens, which would require adult referees.
“I would love to see some ideas on three to five years outside of capital improvements,” said Heithold to the parks board.
Board president Lopez reported parks board meetings will no longer take place at the Armory, but at the Civic Theater.
Heithold suggested to the rest of the board that they consider writing down actionable goals for the remaining fiscal year.
