Whitesboro Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) director Penny Renfroe presented ideas to the City Council last week to update and replace the wooden playground at Godwin Park.
Renfroe expressed gratitude for the efforts and hard work from the community to construct the wooden community playground in 2002. This effort was made possible by organization, fundraising and over 4,000 hours worked by support staff and 781 volunteers on the construction site alone. (This doesn’t include the hours of work by support staff on the building phase, childcare and food service.)
This was all possible with the help of support staff working alongside 781 volunteers. She said this does not include the hours of work by support staff who worked during the building phase in childcare or food service.
When the playground was first constructed, the expected lifespan of the structure was 20-25 years. In 2011, a portion of the playground was set on fire. During the investigation and inspection process, the wood was found to be plagued by a breakdown of wood at the ground level.
Last Tuesday, Renfroe presented this information to the council seeking their direction. She presented several options, including maintaining the current structure while replacing compromised areas or replacing the current structure with a traditional, but custom designed playground.
After much discussion, the council decided they will take the time to look at other options, including a comprehensive plan before moving forward with a decision.
Renfroe also updated the council on events that took place in December. The Dec. 2 annual Children’s Christmas workshop was a big success with a total of 35 children in attendance. The Youth Recreational basketball league began on Dec. 9. No games were played during the holiday break, and games will be held on Saturdays in January. Baseball, Softball and TeeBall registrations began on January 2.
Fire Chief Steve Pinkston presented the City Council with a summary of the Whitesboro Fire Department’s (WFD) activities for the month of December. The annual toy drive concluded the first week in December. Warranty repairs were made to Engines 236 and 237 by a mobile Emergency Vehicle Tech. in town. He will return Jan. 15 with parts ordered and to complete repairs needed.
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, fire crew battled a one-alarm structure fire on North Ave. According to the report, this was a team effort between Fire, EMS, Police, Dispatch, Streets, Water, Electric and Animal Control. The quick response times on the fire are a direct result of the leadership from the city management team and council, seeing the need to have paid staff during the day. The engine was at the scene in less than three minutes.
An EMS Cart was ordered after council approval. WFD is hoping to have it ready for use within four weeks. In other news, Michael De Piazza, Levi McDowell and Cody Keller have passed their National Registry Paramedic exam and Wyatt Rupert passed his National Registry EMT exam.
Next in the meeting, two downtown businesses were each awarded a Downtown Building Improvement Grant and grant fee waivers. The grants each totaled up to $7,500. The owners of Maxwell’s Table will be using the funds to complete a resurfacing project and complete a project already in motion for the business.
Laura Cook, owner of Cook’s Main Street Mercantile, applied for the facade grant in order to do some exterior and interior painting of the business and beautifying the awning, doors and windows.
Then, City Administrator Julie Arrington spoke about the changes made to the governance policy and procurement policy by the City Attorney and herself. Arrington asked City Council members to review the changes and send any additional changes to be made to her before moving to approve the policies.
Arrington presented the Budget Amendment for the fiscal year 2023-2024 to the City Council. During the presentation, Arrington discussed changes made, things to approve or things that have already been approved. She will be sending out a document to the department. Arrington will return with an ordinance and take a vote on Feb. 2. Arrington was also given the authorization to purchase a vehicle for the Street Dept. not to exceed $55,000.
Arrington spoke about Whitesboro's 150 Year Celebration and how successful it was. The city has partnered with the Whitesboro News-Record to complete and publish the History Book that citizens have ordered. Given the response to the 150th celebration, Arrington thinks a Founder’s Day celebration would be well-received. City Council members agreed to meet with an event planner for the purpose of planning a future Founder’s Day for Whitesboro.