McNamara to look at keeping splash pad open longer next year

At the regular meeting of the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority on Sept. 24, Marsha Hollins asked why the new splash pad couldn’t be kept open on week ends as long as the weather is still warm.
She said she asked the Parks and Recreation Department and they told her the DDA hired a vendor to winterize the splash pad on Sept. 16 and that wasn’t their decision.
The children who wanted to enjoy the water during the hot weather after that were disappointed, Hollins said.
She asked if they couldn’t look into keeping the splash pad open on Saturdays and Sundays in warm weather after school starts next year.
Hollins asked if the Memorial Day to Labor Day span of time announced for the splash pad to be open was set in stone or could it be changed.
Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara said he agrees that this schedule should be looked at and next year they will have another plan for the splash pad.
He said Matt Best, director of public services, now is in charge of the splash pad since the DDA turned it over to the township after it was complete.
In other business at the 22-minute meeting on Sept. 24, the DDA:
• Approved the Amended 2019 DDA Budget and the Proposed 2020 DDA Budget which will be turned over to the township board for consideration with the other budgets at its Oct. 1 meeting. DDA Director Susan Ireland said they are not sure how much it will cost to run Harris Park, so they have taken an educated guess. Also, she said, they are being conservative on the expected tax capture for next year;
• Heard Director Ireland report the DDA has been doing grass cutting around the new pedestrian path over I-94. She said the MDOT had the dead evergreens removed and there are approximately 15 trees that will be replaced in the spring;
• Heard Ireland report a cleaning crew was scheduled to clean the Harris Park (Placemaking) building on Sept. 30, so furniture installation by HLF will be after that. They are working on the technology, but AT&T has been slow, she said. Appliances and other supplies, as well as blinds for the windows, are being ordered. A final walk-through will be made after the cleanup;
• Heard Ireland also report that they are using the township’s conference room application rules as a template for the Harris House rules, which are being put together. She also is changing some locks and putting in additional security fencing;
• Learned meetings of the DDA board will probably start being held at the Harris House after the first of the year. Ireland and Deputy Director Lisa Lothringer are preparing their offices at township hall for the move to the new building;
• Learned work is being delayed by Wade Trim on the new Capital Improvement Plan as it waits for the last pieces of the puzzle. After the proposed plan is sent to DDA members for review and suggestions, it will be placed on a DDA agenda for approval;
• Learned streetlight replacement parts are being sent to the DDA as each part is available. Ireland said the longest wait will be for the pole itself. She said when the DDA is in receipt of all the necessary pieces, the pole that is down in front of Express Tire will be replaced; and
• Heard Lothringer report on email, social media, and other publicity pieces that are advertising the DDA district. She said the recent Public Safety Day was a huge success with the largest attendance they ever had. About 500-600 people were estimated to have been at the event between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. She said they went through the first round of 320 hot dogs by 11:45 a.m. and ran over to Walmart to purchase an additional 100 hot dogs which were gone before 1 p.m. She said the Lions Club brought their Mobile Vision Testing trailer and referred three to the eye doctor. Also, LEEP Child ID was on site again and said once again they saw more kids than the prior year. LEEP no longer has a grant to bring the service and so Lothringer said she is working to see if a grant is available.