Civic Center Pool, Playground Projects Underway

Between Easling Pool, a new playground, property improvements, and a potential future dog park, there’s plenty of action underway at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center. The Ticker has the latest updates on projects in the park.

Easling Pool
A $5,000 grant from Rotary Charities to study funding and operational scenarios for Easling Pool will result in a pool fundraising plan by the end of this summer.

Parks & Recreation Director Kristine Erickson says the goal is to bring the plan to commissioners for review in August. “We’ve been looking at different models in other communities for municipal-owned pools,” says Erickson. “The other component (of the grant) is creating a fundraising plan so we can raise funds for replacing equipment at the pool in phases.”

Grand Traverse Bay YMCA, which took over pool management in January, received a separate $50,000 grant from Rotary Charities earlier this month to develop “a sustainable business model” and expanded programming at the Civic Center location, called Central Y. The YMCA is now offering a new income-based membership program to make Central Y services “affordable and accessible” to all residents regardless of income level, according to President & CEO Jay Buckmaster.

At the heart of staff and Y efforts – as well as those of nonprofit Friends of Easling Pool – is reducing the pool’s financial burden on the county to avoid its potential closure. County commissioners and the YMCA agreed to a one-year management deal for 2016; terms call for the county to pay the YMCA a $50,000 management fee and to cover pool utility and capital improvement costs. Once Central Y has 400 memberships, the YMCA assumes utility costs. Membership is at 240 now, up from 152 at the end of March.

Either by hitting membership goals, or using different operational or funding models, County Administrator Tom Menzel says next year’s pool arrangement will need to result in significantly lower costs for the county. “I don’t see us being able to pay a management fee or all the utilities next year,” he says. “So if (the YMCA) is willing to continue, hopefully they’ll be able to meet their objectives so we can make it a more balanced agreement.”

New Playground
A community fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 for the construction of a new playground at the Civic Center is set to launch in July.

The playground, which will be located just west of the former Kids Kove site near the Civic Center restrooms, has a $150,000 price tag. Donations and grants totaling $52,000 have already been raised. A design for the playground was approved in March, and staff hoped to launch immediately into a crowdfunding campaign to help raise the remaining dollars, with the goal of opening the playground in early July.

But the review process to get the campaign live through crowdfunding site Patronicity took longer than expected, delaying the project, says Erickson. Patronicty will match dollars raised by the community, up to $50,000, and so has a thorough vetting process. “They just approved us last week, so our next step is to make some videos for the campaign before we go live, hopefully about the third week of July,” Erickson says. The campaign will have a 30-day deadline to raise funds. Any funds raised beyond $150,000 will go toward "phase two" improvements to make the playground more universally accessible.

Other Parks Projects
Also underway at the Civic Center…

> Dog Park: A potential dog park is “still on the radar” of parks staff and commissioners, says Erickson. “We don’t have funding for it right now,” she says. “So we want to get through the first two projects (Easling Pool and the playground) before we focus on that.” A business development committee of the parks board will likely revisit the proposal by the end of the year.
> Native American Trail Marker Tree: A nearly $7,000 grant from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians paid for beautification, new fencing and a commemorative plaque around the Native American Trail Marker Tree on the north side of the Civic Center this year. Parks staff hope to host a dedication ceremony later this summer at the upgraded spot.
> Concessions: The former operators of the Pizza Wagon are operating a new concessions stand this summer in a building closer to the ball fields and skate park. The new facility “is more convenient for the patrons, and brings more of a consistent eye on the skate park,” says Erickson. “It appears it’s receiving a lot of business.”
> Cameras: Another GT Band grant – this one for roughly $7,400 – paid for new surveillance cameras to be installed near the fields and concession stands this year. Erickson says the parks department hopes to apply for another grant in the future for additional camera upgrades to cover the playground site and parking lot areas. The system "has made the park more safe and secure,” she says.