Phase one layout of Old School Park, subject to change
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McCORDSVILLE — The McCordsville Parks Board discussed multiple items about the Old School Park, including possibly closing the ball diamonds during construction, options for the new equipment and the cost, at the Monday night meeting.
The board discussed the ball diamonds located on CR 750W where in the past the public could pay a fee and reserve the field. However, with the construction there will be a disruption of parking, which had the board discussing the possibility of not charging a fee and putting signs up that say something along the lines of ‘Play at your own risk,’ or to just completely close access altogether.
Tim Gropp, McCordsville town manager, said that most of the beginning construction will be at the south of the park with the intent to not touch the tennis court due to just resurfacing it. However, when construction starts, they will lose a significant amount of parking.
Gropp said they also didn’t want to have to touch the ball diamond until the next phase of the project – when they are scheduled to get rid of it.
“Hopefully by then we’ll have a plan to create new ball diamonds so there is a little bit of exchange,” said Gropp at the meeting.
The concern of safety and possible liabilities if the board were to decide on keeping the ball diamond open for rent was also brought into the discussion, such as balls flying into construction zones.
Gropp said they don’t know a specific time on when the work at the park would start because they do not have a contractor picked yet, but they are expecting construction sometime around May or June.
Overall, the recommendation from the Parks Board was to close the ball diamonds during construction and as soon as they can make parking available again, they will reopen the field.
When discussing the future park plans, Gropp said at the meeting that they are looking at installing new parking, a shelter, restrooms, playground equipment for 5- to 12-year-olds, playground equipment for children age 5 and under, and relocation of the park sign in the first phase.
Gropp said that the initial phase-one budget was approximately $1.5 million.
Dr. Bryan Burney, parks board member, brought up a concern about the supervision of children if a family were to have children in both age groups playing on separate playgrounds. With a pathway and landscape area between the two playgrounds, Gropp said they are not yet sure where and how many benches will be in the area.
Gropp also said that, in the budget, they planned to use poured compress rubber instead of mulch on these playgrounds, which costs more now but will eliminate the cost of the maintenance that would be needed with mulch. Also, the poured compress rubber is ADA accessible.
When looking at the 5- to 12-year-old playground equipment, Gropp said what is currently on the scheme includes what is called a Mega Deck Upper Deck – which includes climbing equipment and three slides – a five-bay swing set featuring an ADA accessible swing, a landscape structure for more climbing, two spinner bowls and what is called a WhirleyQ Spinner, which allows multiple children to play on at once.
The estimated cost of the equipment before discount would be $147,310. However, the board agreed upon the removal of the two spinner bowls and is looking at one of the alternative options for the main piece of equipment – the Giant L Sensory, which also features climbing equipment in a different style with two slides.
The 5-and-under play equipment features age-appropriate climbing, balancing and slides, a three-bay swing set with mommy-and-me swings, a bouncer and a spinner. The total estimated cost of the prechosen playground equipment would be $49,650.
For this playground, the board also wanted to remove the spinner and look at other options such as another bouncer or rock boulder for climbing. The board and Gropp also wanted to look at other options for the main piece of equipment, something less obstacle-course-like and possible ADA options.
There was further discussion on restroom layouts and shelter house, with the possibility of adjusting the location of the shelter house to create a more central common area where they could place benches for more seating options.
Gropp said he’d also want to look at different options for phase two, such as open space, which will come later.
Moving forward, Gropp said at the meeting that based off comments and feedback from the board, they are looking to invest more into the restrooms while adjusting the playground options, helping balance budget.
