Portage parks to get new assistant director (Post-Tribune)



articlebot said:
PORTAGE Portage Parks Superintendent Carl Fisher will have a new assistant next month, he told the Park Board as its monthly meeting ended Monday night.

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This is from the Post Tribune and they archive after one day and you will not bee able to find tomarow.

Portage parks to get new assistant director
March 22, 2005
By Charles M. Bartholomew / Post-Tribune correspondent



PORTAGE — Portage Parks Superintendent Carl Fisher will have a new assistant next month, he told the Park Board as its monthly meeting ended Monday night.

The assistant superintendent’s job has been vacant since the departure of Mike Barney for Denver, Colo., last summer. Director of Programs Gloria Nystrom has been performing much of the work that Barney had been doing.

Fisher would not release the name. He said he will meet Wednesday with the candidate, who has given a verbal commitment.

“The process of replacing Mike has taken more time and effort than originally envisioned,” he said.

The board took unanimous action that will have new playgrounds in six parks within weeks after school lets out.

Bids on equipment were accepted from four different companies for equipment at Olson Memorial, Community Acres, Harbor Oaks, Perry, Viking Village and Wolfe Parks, totalling $148,153 from the multimillion-dollar park improvements bond issue.

At consultant Pat Brown’s recommendation, playground bids at Countryside, Imagination Glen and Providence Manor Parks were rejected.

“The walking trail at Providence Manor isn’t completed, and we wanted to wait until there is adequate access to the site,” Brown said. “We wanted the play areas to be themed, and none of the proposals for Countryside or IG jumped out at us.”

The three playgrounds will be rebid later. Brown said not all of the low bids were accepted, because they were also evaluated for design, safety, and play appeal.

He said about 15 members of the public came in to look at the designs and park officials met with the Portage Youth Commission — which made some suggestions.

“What looks good might not be what kids play on,” commission advisor Olga Velazquez said. “They wanted to see monkey bars and tunnel slides.”

Brown and Fisher explained the bid specifications excluded tunnel slides because of problems with vandalism, graffiti and safety.

Portage High School freshman Andrew Golden, 15, presented a survey of recreational wants that was distributed to 200 Portage Township kids.

Among 109 responses, 68 percent wanted more community activities in Portage and 79 percent wanted more social activities. There were multiple mentions asking for local outlets of Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Olive Garde and Red Lobster.

Opportunities were judged significantly “not adequate” in Portage for fishing, hockey, sledding and tennis.

The board formally approved the new five-year land use agreement for Tammy and Kevin Garber, of Lake Station, to manage the Steelwheels BMX track at Imagination Glen.

Jackie and Ken Altizer, who spearheaded the building of the track, turned the operation of the IG facility and the Hobart indoor track and the American Bicycle Association sanctioning for both over to the Garbers last September.

The new agreement gives the park department 25 percent of the racing revenue at IG with a seasonal minimum of $1,500. Tammy Garber said new lighting the park board wants to build for the track and new baseball and soccer complex at IG will help the Portage track to compete with nearby BMX facilities in Rockford and Elgin, Ill., and Michigan.

Brown said he is evaluating several other lighting systems after bids for two of the four ballfields came in higher than what had been budgeted for them.
 

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