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Park Board receives heaps of praise
On Tuesday, community members thanked the Brazil Park Board for their hard work and commitment to the city's parks, especially in pickleball and disc golf, two rising recreational activities.
Roxanne Yocum, representing the Pickleball Association, delivered a thank you note for the Park Board's continued support.
"Every day, there's twenty to thirty people playing, and I love that every time I get out of the car, I hear laughter," said Yocum. "Not only the physical part but mental and social parts. It's wonderful for our community."
As pickleball continues to gain popularity at Forest Park, improvements persist.
TJ Fencing installed two new fences, with another section to separate the tennis court from the last pickleball court to come. New signage, paint, and permanent nets are also in the works. The non-reverting fund and a generous donation of $5,000 for the continued upgrades to the pickleball court will pay for the advancements.
"We're working on it, and it's looking better all the time. Everybody loves it," said Park Board member Georgia Day.
It was noted that there was trepidation when current Board of Works member Linda Messmer spearheaded the pickleball initiative at Forest Park years ago.
"It's gone from that to six courts, that's amazing," said Park Board president Carrol Evans.
Nathan Biggs, representing the Crossroads Disc Golf Club, presented his thanks for the beautifully maintained disc golf courses in Brazil.
"Even though we're a Vigo County club, Demming Park is in a state where it needs to be repaired badly, and having these two quality courses (Forest and Craig Parks) as close as they are, we love it. We cannot thank you enough for that," said Biggs.
Biggs described the new disc golf course at Craig Park averages 20-30 people for league nights. Crossroads Disc Golf Club will have its annual Doubles in the Forest tournament on October 5.
The former zoo building at Craig Park was sold at a recent auction for $4,000, and those funds will be returned for the restoration of Craig Park.
Evans is ecstatic that the deteriorated building is finally being removed after working on the project for ten years.
The concrete pad of the zoo building is, unfortunately, very pitted from salt and sand from the city's highway department.
"The fire department has agreed to go down there, spray that off, and give it a really good cleansing. Then we'll go from there. Hopefully, we can rehabilitate that and turn it into something great," said Evans.
In other business, the board discussed ADA accessibility and security in the parks.
First was the conversation concerning the wheelchair swing at Forest Park and the necessity of changing the gravel to concrete to be ADA-compliant. It was also noted that the swing was broken by children who misused it and needs to be repaired or replaced. The board is currently working toward compliance.
"Our goal is to make everything ADA compliant," said Day.
The board also discussed using cameras in the park to monitor high vandalism areas. There have also been numerous reports of homeless persons staying at city parks.
Superintendent of Brazil City Parks Marv Moon was unavailable for the meeting but provided the superintendent report detailing work completed in city parks. The report included:
Fixing a swing at Hendrix Park playground.
Cleaning up a small homeless camp at Craig Park.
Cleaning bases at the Forest Park splash pad.
Trimming the area around the walking bridge at Craig Park.
Installing a water drinking fountain at Craig Park.
Removing a dead deer from Craig Park Pond.
Assembling and placing ADA picnic table at Shelter 11 at Forest Park.
After dedicating eight years on the board, Carrol Evans announced she would be stepping down at the end of the year.