As the city’s various departments are prioritizing their needs, Shawnee’s Parks Department said a new roof, new equipment at several parks and improvements at the Woodland Aquatic Center are among its top priorities.
James Bryce, interim director of operations, said the city currently spends about $5,000 per year for patching the roof at the Shawnee Public Library.
“Each time we go back up there, we create more leaks,” he said. “When it rains, we find where the leaks are. We’re patching it year round.”
Bryce said putting a new roof on the structure would cost the city about $250,000, so the project isn’t in the works for this fiscal year, which began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2011. However, he said it is in the city’s five-year plan and he hopes to have the new roof at the library sometime during the next fiscal year.
Another of that department’s top priorities is the municipal pool, which was renamed the Woodland Aquatic Center.
“The circulation lines under the deck have holes in them,” he said. “I would consider it a pressing need if we’re going to keep the water quality and level up...This is our second year on the new system — the filters and pumps were made to handle this pool and they make the water quality clearer.”
Bryce said projects at the pool could cost between $150,000 and $2.5 million.
Another of the Parks Department’s top five list of priorities is upgrades to many of the city’s 29 parks, which include three parks at Shawnee Twin Lakes.
Bryce said of those parks, the one that needs the most immediate attention is Dean Weigant Park — also known as Slide Park. The four-acre park is located at Leo and Rosa Streets in Shawnee.
“It’s the big one that needs updated,” he said. “The metal slides aren’t good anymore. Those metal slides really get hot.”
The large multi-use slide was built in 1985, Bryce said.
“We can’t even buy the stainless steel slide panel for it anymore,” he said. “It would cost between $70,000 and $100,000 for a comparable replacement for that one big piece. It used to have a lot more on it but we blocked off some of the pieces on it for safety reasons.”
Currently, the city spends between $15,000 to $25,000 per year for park equipment, which includes repairs and replacements. That money is kept in a playground equipment account and was increased this year based on needs at the city’s parks, Bryce said.
Last year, near the end of the fiscal year, the city purchased three additional swing sets, which cost about $3,000 each — roughly the same amount single slides typically cost.
A double swing set from those purchased will be installed at Weigant Park sometime this winter. Bryce said the city typically does its installations of new playground equipment, repairs or replacements during the winter months because that is when crews are not as busy with mowing the parks.
The cost for making all of the needed updates and repairs or to “totally redo the entire Weigant Park” would cost about $200,000, Bryce said.
Bryce said the remaining two items in his department’s top-five list are repairs to the Community Center exterior, at a cost of about $20,000, and the filling of three vacant staff positions within the department.
“The main thing slowing us down on getting a lot of these things done is not having the manpower to do it,” he said. “And when we’re prioritizing the projects, what I want or think we need might be different than what the citizens want or think we need. Somehow, somewhere, the citizens have to come around to support some of these things so we can do them and make them work.”
Bryce said one item that was on the city’s budget last year but was put off and somehow “fell through the cracks” for the current budget, was installing a new air conditioning system at the Municipal Auditorium.
“With an air conditioner, we could rent it out more year round,” he said. “We plan to do it this fiscal year. The money is there but it got put back when we were going to do it last year but it got left out for being rolled over to this year’s budget. It fell through the cracks so we’re doing a budget adjustment to get it back in there. We’re having to turn down events through the summer all the time there because it’s just too hot. But with the air conditioning, it will be able to pay for itself.”
Bryce said the air conditioning for the auditorium will cost about $150,000. He said additional remodeling projects that are wanted for the auditorium but not in the city’s current five-year plan would cost about $2 million.
Bryce’s department also handles many of the responsibilities at the lake. He said after tornadoes damaged two of the city’s boat docks there, replacing those became another priority for the city.
In addition to replacing boat docks, he said he would like to add five daytime boat slips — parking spots for boats at the lake — an enclosed police boat slip, more camping spaces and upgrades to the existing camping area, along with adding about 20 new RV pads.
“We need to get money coming in so we can increase the revenue enough to put more money into the lake area,” he said. “I feel we can add several camping areas there and the new boat docks will come from an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife boating access grant. But it’s going to be a little bit for that — the paperwork isn’t ready. We’re hoping to have those new ones ready to go by the next season.”
Vice Mayor Frank Sims said he agrees with Bryce’s idea that more money could be made at the lake.
“I think there’s a tremendous amount of revenues that can be generated out there,” he said.
Bryce said to add a new water well, 20 concrete RV pads with 50-amp services and water hookups, a dump station, restrooms and showers, it would cost about $227,000. The camping and boating improvements would cost about $192,000.
Also regarding the lake, Bryce said he needs at least two new full-time employees, as soon as budgets will allow. He said one of those would “do strictly maintenance” while the other, a lake manager, would handle permits and write tickets.
“The same guys who do all the park work now do all the permits, tickets and maintenance,” he said.
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As the city’s various departments are prioritizing their needs, Shawnee’s Parks Department said a new roof, new equipment at several parks and improvements at the Woodland Aquatic Center are among its top priorities.
James Bryce, interim director of operations, said the city currently spends about $5,000 per year for patching the roof at the Shawnee Public Library.
“Each time we go back up there, we create more leaks,” he said. “When it rains, we find where the leaks are. We’re patching it year round.”
Bryce said putting a new roof on the structure would cost the city about $250,000, so the project isn’t in the works for this fiscal year, which began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2011. However, he said it is in the city’s five-year plan and he hopes to have the new roof at the library sometime during the next fiscal year.
Another of that department’s top priorities is the municipal pool, which was renamed the Woodland Aquatic Center.
“The circulation lines under the deck have holes in them,” he said. “I would consider it a pressing need if we’re going to keep the water quality and level up...This is our second year on the new system — the filters and pumps were made to handle this pool and they make the water quality clearer.”
Bryce said projects at the pool could cost between $150,000 and $2.5 million.
Another of the Parks Department’s top five list of priorities is upgrades to many of the city’s 29 parks, which include three parks at Shawnee Twin Lakes.
Bryce said of those parks, the one that needs the most immediate attention is Dean Weigant Park — also known as Slide Park. The four-acre park is located at Leo and Rosa Streets in Shawnee.
“It’s the big one that needs updated,” he said. “The metal slides aren’t good anymore. Those metal slides really get hot.”
The large multi-use slide was built in 1985, Bryce said.
“We can’t even buy the stainless steel slide panel for it anymore,” he said. “It would cost between $70,000 and $100,000 for a comparable replacement for that one big piece. It used to have a lot more on it but we blocked off some of the pieces on it for safety reasons.”
Currently, the city spends between $15,000 to $25,000 per year for park equipment, which includes repairs and replacements. That money is kept in a playground equipment account and was increased this year based on needs at the city’s parks, Bryce said.
Last year, near the end of the fiscal year, the city purchased three additional swing sets, which cost about $3,000 each — roughly the same amount single slides typically cost.
A double swing set from those purchased will be installed at Weigant Park sometime this winter. Bryce said the city typically does its installations of new playground equipment, repairs or replacements during the winter months because that is when crews are not as busy with mowing the parks.
The cost for making all of the needed updates and repairs or to “totally redo the entire Weigant Park” would cost about $200,000, Bryce said.
Bryce said the remaining two items in his department’s top-five list are repairs to the Community Center exterior, at a cost of about $20,000, and the filling of three vacant staff positions within the department.
“The main thing slowing us down on getting a lot of these things done is not having the manpower to do it,” he said. “And when we’re prioritizing the projects, what I want or think we need might be different than what the citizens want or think we need. Somehow, somewhere, the citizens have to come around to support some of these things so we can do them and make them work.”
Bryce said one item that was on the city’s budget last year but was put off and somehow “fell through the cracks” for the current budget, was installing a new air conditioning system at the Municipal Auditorium.
“With an air conditioner, we could rent it out more year round,” he said. “We plan to do it this fiscal year. The money is there but it got put back when we were going to do it last year but it got left out for being rolled over to this year’s budget. It fell through the cracks so we’re doing a budget adjustment to get it back in there. We’re having to turn down events through the summer all the time there because it’s just too hot. But with the air conditioning, it will be able to pay for itself.”
Bryce said the air conditioning for the auditorium will cost about $150,000. He said additional remodeling projects that are wanted for the auditorium but not in the city’s current five-year plan would cost about $2 million.
Bryce’s department also handles many of the responsibilities at the lake. He said after tornadoes damaged two of the city’s boat docks there, replacing those became another priority for the city.
In addition to replacing boat docks, he said he would like to add five daytime boat slips — parking spots for boats at the lake — an enclosed police boat slip, more camping spaces and upgrades to the existing camping area, along with adding about 20 new RV pads.
“We need to get money coming in so we can increase the revenue enough to put more money into the lake area,” he said. “I feel we can add several camping areas there and the new boat docks will come from an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife boating access grant. But it’s going to be a little bit for that — the paperwork isn’t ready. We’re hoping to have those new ones ready to go by the next season.”
Vice Mayor Frank Sims said he agrees with Bryce’s idea that more money could be made at the lake.
“I think there’s a tremendous amount of revenues that can be generated out there,” he said.
Bryce said to add a new water well, 20 concrete RV pads with 50-amp services and water hookups, a dump station, restrooms and showers, it would cost about $227,000. The camping and boating improvements would cost about $192,000.
Also regarding the lake, Bryce said he needs at least two new full-time employees, as soon as budgets will allow. He said one of those would “do strictly maintenance” while the other, a lake manager, would handle permits and write tickets.
“The same guys who do all the park work now do all the permits, tickets and maintenance,” he said.
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