Parks and Recreation projects moving forward

By Randy Bell

The weather hasn’t always been cooperative over the last few months, but that hasn’t stopped work crews from pushing ahead with a series of improvements at Clinton’s parks. Significant progress is being made on projects funded by a bond issue and by the City’s two per cent restaurant tax. The biggest job of all is the lighting upgrade on the athletic fields at Traceway Park.

“We’re right on track with the completion date being on or before July 4,” says Parks and Recreation Director Courtney Nunn. “They have begun construction out there. Their initial plan is to drop all the base poles on all the fields before they get going with the rest of the poles.”

The project involves the installation of seventy steel poles holding 575 LED fixtures to light twenty-four fields.

Work is also underway at Traceway on new restrooms at softball fields 5 and 6 and baseball field 10. And Nunn told the Board of Aldermen February 4 that money has been found to install new scoreboards at several Traceway baseball fields.

At Kids Towne, construction continues on a new pickleball complex, including eight courts along with restrooms, a concession stand and a pavilion. Some additional dirt work which was required set things back by a month, but Nunn says the project should be finished by mid-July. However, even if the courts are completed first, pickleball enthusiasts won’t be able to use them until the rest of the work passes final inspections.

And at Brighton Park, crews were wrapping up the installation of new playground equipment in early February, to be followed by work on a poured-in-place surface.