By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Construction is still underway on the two buildings within Richardson Stadium at Gorin Park, and work is expected to begin relatively soon at what is to be an almost completely revamped American Legion Park, according to Eddie Furlong, director of the Glasgow Parks and Recreation Department.
He updated the city council committee that works with his department at the panel’s regular meeting Monday evening.
“We’ve been going back and forth, just working out some little finite details on the contract and stuff like that. We’re supposed to meet with them very soon to get an actual timeframe on when they’re starting and all that kind of stuff,” Furlong said of the contractor, Walker Principles Group, hired for the construction at American Legion Park. “I met with them one day last week just to get them keys to the park, so they’re going to start moving some stuff in pretty quickly. I just don’t have a timeframe on that just yet.”
An aquatic center is to be installed toward the top of the hill where a baseball field was; basketball courts and a small playground are planned for sort of midway up to the drive, in the vicinity of what had been the summer camp building; and at the bottom of the hill, where the swimming pool was for more than four decades, features like pickleball courts and an outdoor exercise gym and more are part of the design.
At Richardson Stadium, he said most of the block walls have gone up over the past three weeks or so, “so it’s coming along pretty well. … There’s still quite a bit of work to do.”
After the meeting, he elaborated that the block walls are up and the door frames are in, but the inside walls and roof are still to be completed.
One building is intended to have the score booth, restroom and storage, and the other is for concessions, restroom and storage and they are both at roughly the same level of progress.
New cameras have arrived but a final consultation is to be done with regard to the best positioning, and Furlong said he hopes they’ll be installed in the next two to three weeks.
He noted the popularity of the new pickleball courts at Gorin Park and said that he’s had requests from two different groups to host tournaments there, and no fee schedule has been set for them yet.
After several minutes of discussion that included information about the rental of the baseball complex and the charges at other pickleball courts, the panel decided to make the fee $250 per day, plus tax, for all three courts to be re-evaluated at the first of 2025.
Other items he and/or council members addressed included the following:
– Adult softball continues through the end of August.
– Fall soccer sign-ups have started.
– The final Movie in the Park, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” for this season is planned for Aug. 16.
– Two ball tournaments for travel teams have been booked – Aug. 10-11 and Aug. 24-25.
– A request has been made for the use of city facilities for Barren County Fall Ball, but Furlong said schedule availability is yet to be determined.
– Lighting of the different portions of Gorin Park needs to be checked, and new LED lights are going to be installed at the basketball court.
– A resident had inquired of Councilwoman Chasity Lowery, who chairs the committee, as to whether a soccer goal could be placed at one of the parks for kids to use informally; Furlong said he has a goal structure, but it needs a net, so one would have to be ordered. “They are somewhat expensive,” he said, adding that it can take awhile to get one this time of the year, but he would work on that. The goal would likely be placed at Twyman Park.
– The Kentucky State Police has inquired about having driver’s license testing – the driving part – at Weldon Park once again weekly as part of a pilot program to make locations available outside the cities where the regional Transportation Cabinet offices are. City Administrator April Russell said she hasn’t seen the details yet.
– Furlong presented a draft of proposed Park Rules & Regulations for those who use city park facilities. After a few questions and brief discussion, at least some of the committee members wanted time to review the more than six pages of text, so no vote was taken on whether to adopt them.
– Councilman Freddie Norris had been sent a letter relating to the Weldon Trust Fund and bank management fees, but Councilman Terry Bunnell clarified that the city is not a party to that. The beneficiaries of it are the Pearl Webb Cemetery and the Weldon Tennis Association.
The fourth member of the committee, Councilman Patrick Gaunce, was also present.
