Parks & Recreation unlocks facilities for public use
Morgan County Parks & Recreation recently decided to unlock their facilities and open them to the public.
Board members are conducting periodic checks on the parks to assess their condition and usage.
Parks & Recreation facilities include the Biser Street basketball and tennis courts, the U.S. Route 522 ball field complex, the Harmison Field skate park and North Berkeley Community Park. The latter park has never been locked.
Skate park
Close said that a front gate padlock at the Harmison Field skate park and posted sign requesting users to keep the gate locked didn’t belong to Parks & Recreation.
The padlock and sign were placed there by the Berkeley Springs Bike and Skate Park organization. (BS2) The lock will be removed, he said.
The BS2 group has been inactive and hasn’t done anything further with the skate park or its landscaping, Close said. The skate park has fallen back into the lap of Parks & Recreation by default, he said.
A trailer that was to be used for BS2 meetings and eventually a concession stand is currently unused, he said. The skate park has several smaller ramps and boxes besides the large half-pipe ramp that was repaired last year.
For tennis use only
Signs that say “For tennis use only” were purchased and will be placed at the Biser Street tennis courts, said Aaron Close, acting Parks & Recreation board president and acting secretary.
The signs were deemed necessary after an indoor soccer group from Hancock was found using the tennis courts with the nets as their goals. The group was asked to use the basketball courts instead.
The situation prompted a discussion about getting new locks or removing the locks at their May meeting. Board member John Rowland made a motion to unlock all of their facilities for public use.
He withdrew his motion after wanting to talk first with the Morgan County Tennis Association about their feelings about the signs and locks.
No acting director
The board also voted at the meeting to not pursue appointing an acting director at this time. Former acting director Bruce Beadenkopf moved away in April.
Close said they wouldn’t appoint a new director until they could decide what specific duties and programs a new director would assume.
Board members are personally handling duties as they arise for activities and programs. The newest board members are Mark Rockwell representing the Morgan County School Board and Dawn Beal for the Town of Bath.
Other
The Morgan County Commission has taken over the responsibility of mowing at Parks & Recreation facilities and hired a part-time maintenance man to handle daily duties at the locations, Close said.
They had planned to have a Parks & Recreation summer sports camp in July, but it was canceled.
The light bulbs have been replaced at the Little League field so tournaments can now be conducted.
