Increasing communication is a parks and recreation priority

The summer has started out busy for Creston Parks and Recreation between pool use and other park projects.

During the park board’s meeting Tuesday, Creston Parks and Recreation Director Rusty Zimmerman said the pool has been heavily utilized since opening for the season on June 2.

“The pool has been, I would say, incredibly busy on normal sunny days,” Zimmerman said.

Board member Margo Fuller complimented Zimmerman and his staff, saying she’s heard many good comments about the pool this summer. “Your staff does a good job.”

One complaint families have had regards communication when the pool must close for maintenance or weather.

“I’ve had a bunch of people ask me about the pool, can we do something on the website for if it’s closed because of rain or for maintenance or repairs,” board member Todd Kinkade said. “There were a lot of parents, I can’t remember what day it was, but the pool was closed and they were like, ‘well, my kids don’t have any other place to go.’”

While the board made notice that the pool shouldn’t be treated as a daycare center, earlier notice on pool happenings would be helpful. Due to limited access, they said it can be difficult to put updates on the city website.

The creation of a Creston Parks and Rec Facebook page was suggested, which could hold not only updates on the city pool, but also information about other events and notices in the parks. While no site has been created yet, the park board were excited about the possibility.

Social media isn’t the only way the board has been working to get information out to the community. Fuller has been working with various volunteers to repair and update park information displays located around town.

“I did get the displays painted and stained. I’m working on getting all the information updated,” Fuller said. “The trails are working on a new map. The maps inside of them haven’t been printed in over 12 years, which means nothing has been updated in them in 12 years. They will be updated in the next few weeks.”

In other park and rec news...

Two residents spoke at public forum. Larry Murdock obtained permission from the board to host the annual JeepFest at McKinley Park. This event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 26 by the bear statue.

Elizabeth Fioretto requested the city add mulch or some type of protectant at the city parks. She said her family has lived in Creston for four years and rarely take their kids to the park due to injuries from lack of mulch.

Fuller has been elected as the new board secretery following the resignation of Katie Turner. The board is actively looking to fill the position. Applications can be found on the city website.

Zimmerman said there have been issues with guests cleaning up after themselves in the various ball parks after games. He said the park team will spend almost an hour after long games to get everything thrown away. The board is looking into adding cleanup to their field-use agreement to combat this.