Park Board Elects New Officers

Rock Barn Roof, Tree Branches In Parks Discussed

The Trenton Park Board met Wednesday night and elected new officers for the year.
Curtis Crawford was named the new president of the park board, taking over for outgoing president Duane Helmandollar. In addition to Crawford’s appointment, Andy Cox was elected vice president of the board and John Hamilton was named secretary.
The majority of the meeting at the upper Moberly Park shelter house covered two topics; a leak in the roof of the Rock Barn at the fairgrounds and tree braches in the parks.
The board decided that Crawford and parks superintendent David Shockley would attempt to get an initial look at the leak and see if they could determine just where exactly the leak was coming from and how bad it is. They would then contact a local roofer to get an estimate about the cost of a repair.
The Rock Barn roof was last replaced just a handful of years ago following a hailstorm that did damage to its roof as well as many other roofs in the community.
City councilman Marvin Humphreys attended the meeting to discuss what he said were multiple complaints about downed tree branches piled up at the base of several trees in the city’s parks. Shockley said the branches get placed there during mowing and that the parks department would get that issue taken care of. He elaborated that June is the busiest month of the year for the department. With the heavy rains in June the department has struggled to keep up with mowing and two youth tournaments in town required the department to mark fields almost every day for two and a half weeks. The crews have also been checking the pool every morning and night to make sure it is ready for patrons each day.
But, with the calendar flipping to July, Shockley said the branch issue would be taken care of.
Other items addressed by the board were a tube replacement on the walking trail behind Burleigh Grimes Field and fixing cracks in parking lots at Moberly and Eastside parks. Both of those issues would have to be taken to the street department.
The committee reports were pretty quiet. The pool committee simply stated that it has been pleased with the pool attendance so far this year. The facilities committee said the fields looked good for the recent tournaments held in town and there was no grounds report.
Shockley closed the meeting with the superintendent’s report. In his report, Shockley informed the board that a new diving board pad had been installed at the pool. The Green Hills Recreation Association games are over for the summer, but Shockley’s crews will be handling the marking of Burleigh Grimes Field for a four-team American Legion Tournament next week. The parks department is also working on trim spraying all facilities and fencing throughout the park system and cleaning up from storm damage at the various parks. The crew has also taken advantage of rain days to maintain its mowers.
Shockley also thanked everyone who helped make the fireworks at the Rock Barn a successful event. He closed his report saying a Dig Rite ticket had been completed and that digging for the base of the new Eastside Park sign, approved at the board’s June meeting, would begin on Monday. Sharp Stonework is installing the new sign that will match the sign at the Ebbe Sports Complex.
The next meeting of the Trenton Park Board is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 4.