Active off-season at Memorial Park
The Henry County Memorial Park Board kicked off the new year with a new member, a long list of wintertime maintenance achievements, and a fresh path forward.
Michael Lykens sat with the board for the first time, replacing outgoing park board member Steve Peckinpaugh.
In housekeeping business, the board agreed on Rita Fisher as president, September Clark as vice president, Levi Simmons as secretary and Lykens as Treasurer.
Open positionPark Superintendent Casey Richards informed the board that the park secretary quit this week with no notice.
“I’m back to being the lone ranger in the park office,” Richards said, confirming that she would do her best to keep the office open on weekends in the interim.
Richards announced plans to post the position later this week. The position involves working Saturdays, Sundays and major holidays.
Meanwhile, Richards expressed pride in all park employees, noting that she had provided board members with a list of all workers and how many years of experience they have.
“We have a really good team right now, and I am happy with the things we are accomplishing.”
Maintenance reportIn terms of accomplishments, Richards shared a long list, indicating that park staff had been taking advantage of the colder weather to get quite a bit done in preparation for spring.
Richards reported that two shelters and two bathroom roofs had been replaced by reclaimed metal that had been recovered from the old annex that had previously been attached to the W.G. Smith Building.
All park vehicles were cleaned inside and out, inventoried, documented and photographed.
Richards said her staff used rainy days to work in the shop to clean off shelves and rearrange equipment. She said staff filled three trash totes with unneeded items. All cabinets, countertops and refrigerators were cleaned inside and out.
Staff repaired five broken picnic tables and four tables in the Smith building and built and stained eight picnic tables.
The staff also built a small duck house in between the two garages in case park officials need to temporarily house an injured duck. Richards said that an injured park duck named Sally was currently in therapy thanks to a group that rehabilitates wildlife. Richards expected Sally to come back home soon.
The staff split more wood and cleaned up fallen trees. According to the park’s Facebook on Monday, there is still firewood available at $55 a truckload – split, dried, and ready to burn. Patrons must pay in the park office Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. or can schedule an appointment by calling 765-591-2703.
Cost-saving measuresWith fewer outdoors activities demanding her attention, Richards turned her efforts to seeing how to make her department more efficient. Her superintendent’s report noted recent efforts to bring down costs so that park security could be increased.
Richards reported to the board that she discontinued monthly delivery of water softener salt. Park employees will now perform maintenance on the three units throughout the park. The previous contractor charged $11.60 per bag of salt, and park employees secured their own salt bags at $6.49 each.
Richards also received a 5 percent discount on water softener rental fees by paying for them for the year. Total water softener-related expenditures for 200 totaled $1,542.20.
Richards told the board she canceled the Leap IT printer contract for the year, a $1,528 savings. Richards said the county council added a new printer to the current year’s budget and that she plans to use the old printer for as long as possible before getting the new one.
Increased park securityWith money saved from making park operations more efficient, the park staff was able to add internet and video security to the superintendent’s house and park shop.
The park now maintains video surveillance of the house, Golf Cabin, north park entrance, gas tanks, maintenance shop, woodpile and all garages.
Richards said the security system provides round-the-clock monitoring and that park officials can review any video footage from any time. Richards can also view any area remotely in real time and has two-way communication with any location being monitored.
Fireworks in the worksRichards said she has started the planning process for the Fourth of July Fireworks at the park. She has reached out to the top five sponsors last year hoping they will renew their sponsorships.
Richards said that with a fresh pledge of $5,000 and $9,000 carried over from the previous year, the park has $14,000 already set aside for this year’s celebration. Richards estimated the annual fireworks show costs up to $40,000.
Seeking grantsRichards recently met with Henry County grant writer Glen Vann to discuss the park’s needs and how grants could be used to generate revenue. Richards said Vann will be actively searching his sources for grants that may benefit the park.
Rentals on the rise
“The calendar for this year is booking up fast,” Richards told the board, noting that the decision to split the day into two potential rentals is “working really well” and not only gives more people the chance to rent buildings but is adding more rental income for the park.
Other busines
s
The board agreed to continue holding regular meetings at 6 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month at the Smith Building. Richards noted that the June date would be early to accommodate the Sheriff’s Camp, and December would be early because of Christmas.
The park board also expressed concern about the Sanders shelter, which the Expo Board was supposed to replace south of County Road 100 N.
Melanie Sanders Douglass appeared before the Henry County Commissioners on Wednesday morning in tears.
Patron Steve Peckinpaugh urged the park board to accelerate the process of getting the shelter rebuilt within the memorial portion of the park.
