By André Nolan, P&R/NRC Board member
The Municipal Parks and Recreation/Natural Resources Advisory board met July 9th at IH Clubhouse.
Parks Board Members Chad Reynolds and Scott Robbins had excused absences. Kevin Rooney, Parks and Recreation director and Kim Odom, Senior Center manager and special events coordinator) were in attendance. Also present were Greg Kuehl, father of Zadie Kuehl, after whom a park is named, and Dr. Jimmy Murphy, The Pet Hospitasl, Lakeland, who donated land to the project.
Link to agenda: https://tn-lakeland.civicplus.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/855
Zadie E. Kuehl Park Memorial Park
There was another instance of unusual trash in the park. Steps are being taken to curb this activity.
The drainage report for the proposed Dog Park was received and a small amount of work is required but this can be performed by Lakeland Public Works.
The proposed layout was shown to the Board. It has a small dog and a large dog area both with double-gated entry. The large dog area has two entries: one on the east side and one on the west. Also included in the plan are water features, additional trash cans, pet refuse bag dispensers/receptacles and benches.
Dr. Murphy suggested opening up the entrance from the Pet hospital, as part of this phase, stating that a Dog Park would be a huge asset to Lakeland, and would provide a huge return on investment by drawing new residents to Lakeland.
There was discussion on a gravel parking lot being added to this phase. Mr. Rooney will report back to the Board next month.
The Board was also concerned that if the Dog Park is opened before the new entry is complete that the home owners near the Park might be affected by the increase motor traffic visiting the Park.
Commissioner Michele Dial said she would look at the possibility of adding Parks capital projects to the proposed USDA loan.
Plantation Hills
The Checkers and Tic Tac Toe have been popular with several families visiting the park.
Athletic Complex
The team at Barge Design Solutions are still waiting to hear back from TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation). The contract stage is expected to be complete by mid-August and then move into the design phase.
The Parks Department is seeking a location for the youth soccer group to practice on. Anyone who has an area that might be suitable please contact Commissioner Dial.
IH Park
The BOC (Board of Commissioners) approved the internet upgrades at the Clubhouse. Cable modems with fast connections and 5G routers will serve both the Clubhouse and the Senior Center. Additionally the cable television service will be removed in favor of Smart TV. This will provide the City Park with better services at a lesser cost.
The Board commented that the new tables and chairs were comfortable and a much-needed improvement at the Clubhouse.
Other improvements that are upcoming are new sheetrock and paint in areas damaged by the leaking roof, which was recently replaced; new LED light fixtures and modern switches; Smart TVs for both the Senior Center and Clubhouse; and new furniture.
In an unexpected turn of events the AC compressor at the clubhouse failed and had to be replaced at an unexpected cost of $2,800.
The Parks Department has applied for a $10K grant from the Disk Golf Foundation. Volunteers who previously were interested in creating a disk golf course in Lakeland have committed to another project.
Eagle Scout projects:
Jake Newlund: New benches are complete and the five existing benches are refurbished.
Nate Newlund: Trail marking project is complete.
Wes Burkhead has proposed a raised Bat House to be situated on the gas line south of the gravel parking lot. The bats would be useful to keep the mosquito population under control.
Keep Tennessee Beautiful (KTnB) plans to move their 5K run to IH Park. It previously was at the Delta Blues Winery. They are also considering making it a 2K to increase interest. They would utilize the blue trail in the Park.
Discussion on revitalizing the KLB (Keep Lakeland Beautiful) organization took place. It was decided that Mr. Rooney should start the reapplication process, and the current Parks Board will oversee KLB until it could create its own board with BOC oversight.
Windward Slopes Park
Eagle Scout Jaxon Hindman repainted the ball wall and added pet waste containers.
Park Department administration
Dick’s Sporting Goods is a Parks and Recreation Department sponsor. There are plans to announce the date of their community Lakeland event where residents can take a 20% discount on purchases from Dick’s.
The Parks and Recreation Department has stayed on budget for the year. Board Member André Nolan asked if the athletics programs were still self-sustaining and Mr. Rooney assured the Board that they were.
Some services that the Public Works Department perform for Parks and Recreation are being delayed due to staff changes at Public Works.
The weed-spray program continues and the brown spots you see in some parks are a result of that program. The brown spots are dead weeds. The grass should fill these areas over the next few months.
Athletics
Summer T-ball and Coach Pitch Baseball
The season is in full swing with games and continued practices. The league had a Lakeland baseball game night at the Memphis Redbirds game June 28th. Several kids got a chance to stand on the field with the Redbirds players and sing the National Anthem. Others were able to participate in a High 5 Tunnel for the players! It was a great night!
Soccer
Fall soccer registration is now open. Registration closes August 11th. Season begins August 17. The season will be played at the St. Paul United Methodist Church fields.
Lakeland IFA, our competitive soccer program, held tryouts in May and June. We are fielding two girls born 2008/09 teams, and two boys born 2008/09 and 2011/12 teams this season.
Teams will play at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex and also in local tournaments. This is the program’s 2nd season and the number of teams has doubled from last season.
Youth and Adult Tennis
Registration is now open for the end of the summer session of youth tennis clinics which began Sunday (7.14.19) and go through August 25th.
Tackle Football
Registration is now closed. We are entering a 10U team in the MFL (Municipal Football League). This team will compete against Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Tipton County, along with two non-conference games against SYS (Shelby Youth Sports) teams. The season begins in August. Summer conditioning is currently underway during the weeknights at the Windward Slopes Park.
Flag Football
Registration is now closed. We have 57 enrollments for the 7-9 age group and 22 enrollments for the 5-7 age group. The season begins in August. Practices and games will be played at the City Hall fields.
Cheerleading
The City will have one Competitive Recreation Cheer Team of 15 girls who will compete in local competitions and will also cheer for our 10U tackle football team. This is the 2nd season for our competitive rec. team. Cheer camp was held last month at the Memphis Pride gym and the practice season begins in July.
We also have another 19 on our Recreation Cheer Team that will only cheer for our 10U tackle football team.
Both teams are coached by Memphis Pride Cheer & Dance.
Memphis Grizzlier Youth Basketball Camp
Memphis Grizzlies Youth Basketball Camp July 15-18 at LMPS. Registration is closed. Link to story: https://lakelandcurrents.com/its-grizz-camp-at-lmps-this-week/
Register for all of these great programs at www.lakelandtn.gov/leagues or contact Wendi Haley, recreation program supervisor, at whaley@lakelandtn.org or 867-5407.
Lakeland Senior Center (LSC)
LSC attendance for June was 411. Attendance for the previous year was 380.
The Stars and Stripes Annual Dinner was June 28th, sponsored by Trustmark Bank. It was attended by over 70 seniors. Link to the Lakeland Currents story here: https://lakelandcurrents.com/patriotic-dinner-for-lakeland-seniors-celebrated-independence-day-last-month/
… Photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
