By Lisa Carolin
Improvements are underway at Timbertown Park. That was discussed at the June 6 meeting of the Chelsea Parks Commission.
Jeff Hardcastle, Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative board chair, spoke about the many Timbertown projects in which the Parks Commission and HWPI are partnering. He said the preliminary site plan will be submitted to the Chelsea Planning Commission in August, which the Parks Commission approved. A project overview will be shared with Chelsea City Council at its June 12 meeting.
Proposed plans include putting pickleball courts on the west side of the park tucked in near to the B2B trail, improvements in lighting and parking, which will also include an offer from project partner Gestamp to use the east end of its parking lot for overflow parking during busy weekends at the park.
There will also be another drinking fountain, improved port-o-johns, and a shade element addition to Timbertown parking area. The vintage baseball field was discussed. There is the possibility of a mural on the outside of the pickleball fence that will evoke the pastoral theme baseball teams of the 1890s may have experienced when playing left field.
The subcommittee working to repair Timbertown’s Pathway to Renewal, is working on a plan estimated to cost $50,000-$60,000. Additional possibilities include a themed contemplative play piece and a pavilion.
Cement pads have been laid in both Veterans Park and Pierce Park for bike racks. Also at Pierce Park, landscape architect Meg Gowen and her Girl Scout Troop 4069 planted a butterfly garden last month. Gowen reported deer have been eating some of the plants and said that water is a big issue at that location.
After feedback from a dog park user last month questioning the need for a separate dog park, commission member Pat Muldoon researched best practices and found that most dog parks offer a separate area for small dogs and that the separate space for the Chelsea Dog Park is right-sized-not too big or too small. The Parks Commission approved building a fence and a gate at the Dog Park to create an area for dogs needing a separate space, as well as approving a Dog Park keyless entry system.
New signage for the Dog Park will also be installed. The commission has also been approached by a local boy scout who would like to work on the Dog Park’s agility circuit as his Eagle project.
The Chelsea Parks and Recreation Commission meets next at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 11.
