Though the Hoffman Pool is closed for the season and warmer weather sports are wrapping up, the Bellefontaine Joint Recreation District (BJRD) isn’t slowing down. They have several projects ready for the next step, and the district board of trustees went over them at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
In parks superintendent Kris Myers’ report to the board, he highlighted the renovations at Harmon and Oakland parks, the completion of the pickleball courts at Rutan Park, updated them on possibilities at Fred Carter, including a potential sledding hill, and said they were on track for the next phase of the community pool project.
Myers started by saying companies interested in designing the new Harmon Park have until 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, to pick up their bid documents and manual. After that date, the submissions will go before an internal committee, where they’ll choose “the lowest and best bid.”
To give board members an idea of the work that will be done, Myers showed them a rendering of the site plan. It includes areas like an agility course for older children, new basketball courts and a small ballfield.
“It’s really a neighborhood play space,” Myers said about the approximately three-acre park. Myers was most excited about the new playground equipment, which includes a slide with a peak that’s 23 feet high.
Oakland Square Park is also moving forward, with concrete work completed and the news that the playground equipment is finally in Ohio. They can install that once the sidewalks are excavated and poured and the safety surfacing mulch is down.
The department has about $120,000 for the work they want to do at Fred Carter Park, which includes money from a donation. Dredging the pond tops the list, but there’s talk about creating a sledding hill there as well.
One completed project is the pickleball court expansion at Rutan Park. The result is eight permanent courts with better nets and ground surfaces.
“I wish we could have striped it two weeks sooner,” Myers admitted, “but we’re really happy with how it turned out.”
Of course, the biggest project in the works is the new Hoffman Pool. To get that rolling, the board authorized the department to hire MSA Sport out of Columbus for design and construction administration. The company then needs to be approved by the Bellefontaine city council at their Oct. 14 meeting.
Though a specific date hasn’t been set, Myers plans to hold the first of three community input meetings regarding the new pool during the second week of November. It’s a chance for people to share their ideas and dreams for the project. The second meeting will go over options that come out of the first conversation. Then, at the final gathering, they’ll present a conceptual plan based on what the community wants to see how it fits into the budget.
Youth Sports Scholarship Program
Under old business, the board approved the Youth Sports Scholarship Program as presented.
“We took our last conversation and tweaked it,” Myers said, referring to a discussion about the program at the September meeting.
Deciding it was logistically too hard to establish a program based on what each person could afford, they went with a flat $20 fee. The department has submitted an application to the United Way to help cover some of the costs, and they have other funding options.
“Thank you,” Keyne Strickland, board member, told Myers and Danny LeComte, recreation program coordinator. “This is much-needed in the community. I think it will be a big help to some families.”
Myers gave kudos to LeComte for doing most of the work needed to get the scholarship fund up and running.
Other board action:
• “We’re in that time of year where we’re wrapping things up and kicking some things off again,” Myers said regarding the various district sports programs. They just finished a couple soccer tournaments and have about two weeks of flag football and another month of tackle football left.
Registration closes on Sunday, Oct. 26, for boys and girls basketball and on Monday, Nov. 10, for wrestling. You can find more information and register at bellefontaineoh.myrec.com.
• The annual Ring of Lights Halloween Walk is at Blue Jacket Park on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. for children in preschool through second grade. This event, which has been going for over 20 years, usually averages about 500 kids with over 1,000 people in attendance.
• Myers expects the recently passed levy will generate about $1.7 million, which is on track for what they planned. They’ve also made over $600,000 in interest to date, which will help them pay for projects.
• The board approved up to $14,000 to put a utility bed on a new pickup truck they purchased last year, which is money they already have in the budget.
• A temporary 2026 budget was approved and will now go to the city council to be voted on at their next meeting.
• Southview Park’s Butterfly Garden has been “awesome this fall,” according to Myers. Volunteers have spent many hours keeping it watered, and they’re already working on expanding it in 2026.
On a related topic, Myers said they’ve spent a lot of time watering grass during the recent dry spell, which was “less time than mowing grass.” He added, “That time is invaluable when it’s not taken up with mowing.”
• A dam inspection at Myeerah Nature Preserve by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which is required every five years, was scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 8. And the parks department is moving on to the next step in renovating the log cabin there—new chinking between the logs.
• In closing, Myers announced that board member Lynda Holycross resigned from her position last week. Like Holycross, the person to take her place will be appointed by the Bellefontaine School District board of education.
The BJRD board of trustees will introduce their new board member at the November meeting — set for Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the basement training room of the Bellefontaine municipal building.
