Board member Haushalter to step down at end of term
As the year comes to a close, the Bellefontaine Joint Recreation District (BJRD) Board of Trustees held their last meeting until 2025 on Tuesday, Dec. 3. They accepted an increase to staff wages, discussed future projects and said goodbye to a board member.
Kris Myers, superintendent, started his report by asking for approval to pay the November 2024 bills. This led Pat Ellis, board president, to ask if they would “finish the year OK.”
“We’re going to finish the year well, actually,” Myers responded.
On a related topic, district employees can look forward to better pay. “We’re updating wages across the board,” Myers explained. “Some will see significant increases, particularly in clerical.”
They have also consolidated seven job classifications into three.
Nick Davis, who acts as liaison between the board and the Bellefontaine City Council, said the council plans to adopt these changes at their regular meeting next week. The average increase will come to about 10 percent for employees.
“The city took a look at pay scales,” Davis stated, “and recognized we’re not as competitive as we’d like to be.”
Later, as the meeting ended, Ellis announced board member Joan Haushalter’s request to “be done” when her term ends in January 2025, making this her last meeting. The board and Myers thanked her for her service.
“I think the department is in a really good place with passage of the levy, so I don’t feel like I’m leaving things undone,” Haushalter, who’s been on the board since 2019, said. “The parks are such a great asset to our community, and it was wonderful to be a part of that.”
In other board news:
Winter sports programs, particularly basketball and wrestling, are “off and running,” according to Myers. They’re still trying to iron out an adaptive bowling schedule that works for TP Lanes and program leaders Mike and Dede Doss.
The letters to Santa box has been set up in downtown Bellefontaine. This year, the Logan County Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Bureau have volunteered to share the letter-reading with the parks department.
Myers believes they’re in good shape with the temporary budget and hopes to present additional capital improvement projects for 2025 at the January meeting.
Park workers tilled additional areas at the Southview Park butterfly garden in order to expand that in 2025.
Log work at the Myeerah Nature Preserve log cabin is done, and they hope to have a new roof on it before the end of the year. Logan County Land Trust paid for this work through grants and donations.
Hoffman Pool has been winterized. They have a garden hose running to keep water in the pool and also prevent freezing. This is done to stop ground water from pushing up on the floor of the pool, which can cause damage and even lift the whole pool.
Freytag and Associates, based in Sidney, will design and administer the Harmon Park project.
“They know where we’re going so that’s advantageous for us,” Myers said.
Dates and locations for the winter walking program are being finalized.
Myers presented the board meeting dates for 2025. They will, for the most part, continue with the first Tuesday of the month schedule. However, he requested they meet on the second Tuesdays in February, March and April due to conflicts.
That change, though, means they can’t gather in their usual spot—city council chambers—as the council convenes on the second Tuesday. Myers will look into using a room in the building’s basement so Davis will still be able to attend the beginning since council meetings start 30 minutes after the park board.
To complete the planned work on park restrooms, Myers asked the board to approve his suggestion to hire two retired contractors. They would be seasonal construction workers for less than 120 days.
“We have people in mind,” Myers stated. “This allows us to control some of our costs.” They will hire a separate contractor for the plumbing work.
The group’s next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.