The city of Waukesha's parks, recreation and forestry department has been recognized over the years with national awards for its many parks and green space.
But keeping these parks up-to-date and modernized is essential to establishing strong programs.
That was the message when director Ron Grall gave a presentation at a recent finance committee meeting for the park department's five-year Capital Investment Program budget, which the council will vote on in November.
New lighting and facility upgrades was a major component to Grall's presentation.
Saratoga Complex
The department is seeking $1.12 million for athletic facility improvements over the next five years, including $510,000 for a new lighting system for the four fields at the Saratoga Complex in 2016. The lighting system there dates to the 1980s.
"Our largest project for 2016 is the Saratoga softball/baseball complex," Grall said. "It's our main facility for baseball and softball."
He said the lighting system has had numerous failures in the last several years.
Grall said the lights would be a "significant upgrade" for its softball program, which he called one of its "bigger revenue programs."
A majority of the project would be paid through a 10-year general obligation debt; $100,000 would be paid through user fees, Grall said.
Better lighting
The parks department also wants to remodel the downtown's new LED lights. That's why the department is looking for $162,000 for new lights over the next five years, including $48,000 in 2016.
The parks department is planning to replace 15 light poles, at a cost of $3,000 each. The majority of the fixtures in the designated parks date to the 1960s, but the department wants to replace these with the new LED lights that are used in downtown.
The plan seeks to replace 15 lights at Bethesda and one at Veterans Park in 2016, and lights at Horeb (nine), Cutler (five), Heyer (12) and the WRO Youth Sports Complex (12) over the next two years.
"(These classic parks) have less-than-classic lighting," Grall said.
New fencing
The department is also looking to improve its fencing at multiple parks over the next couple of years.
Its biggest request ($140,000) is for new fencing in 2016 at Frame Park, which hosts Little League, high school and collegiate baseball.
Grall said the department wants to get away from chain link fencing and replace it with a new tieback backstop netting system that would model what other complexes in the area use, including Waukesha West.
Grall said the backstop netting will do a better job of keeping foul balls in the field area.
"(We've) had some issues with foul balls going into (the former) White Rock (school) and across the street," Grall said.
The department is also looking to replace the fencing along each baseline. Grall said the fencing dates to the early 1990s.
Banting Park's baseball and softball fields could also undergo a renovation as the department is seeking $170,000 for new backstop and baseline fencing in 2016. Grall said the upgrade would make the complex more usable for games and more desirable for groups that want to rent out the fields.
Other highlights in the department's $16 million five-year CIP budget include:
·$271,000 for tennis court improvements. The upgrades include filling cracks, patching, resurfacing and restriping 10 courts at Lowell Park, three at Banting Park and one at Bethesda Park. The department is proposing to spend $138,000 in 2016 for upgrades to the courts at Lowell Park.
The department also plans to convert the existing tennis courts at Banting into pickleball courts, which the city said would better meet the growing user demand, as there are currently waiting lists. According to the proposal, one tennis court would remain so residents could still have an option to play tennis there.
"By converting existing tennis courts, we avoid the cost of new construction of pickleball courts," the department said in its proposal. "Additional lessons and teams could be added for pickleball, which would increase revenue as well."
The Banting Park upgrades aren't expected until 2017 if the city adopts the budget.
·$72,000 for bike/pedestrian improvements of the Fox River Trail in 2016. According to the budget, the Fox River Connector Trial to the Glacial Drumlin Trail needs reconstruction, as it has numerous cracks, depressions and rough spots.
The budget states this is one of the oldest segments in its parks system and many residents have addressed concerns to the department.