The Highlands Parks and Recreation Department is hoping that a donation from the community and some budget help from the town board of commissioners will lead to a number of improvements in 2021.
Parks and rec director Lester Norris outlined his priorities during a recent budget work session for the town board.
“We have been fortunate to receive a $31,000 donation to upgrade and expand the playground at the rec park and the family is considering an additional donation to further improve the facilities,” Norris said. “One thing I would like to see done in coordination with that donation is a remodel of the playground restrooms, which are 35 years old at this point.”
Norris explained that the restrooms nearest the playground are connected to a storage building between the newly resurfaced tennis courts and the parking area. The central location makes the restrooms a high-traffic area when the weather is nice.
“The men’s room has one urinal and one toilet along with a sink and the women’s room has two toilets and a sink, and to be honest they need completely gutted and redone,” Norris said. “The prefabricated dividers are old, the fasteners and fixtures are rusting, there is a drainage problem if the floor gets wet, etc.”
After totaling the items and man hours needed to remodel the restrooms, Norris estimated the cost to come in at roughly $75,000.
Norris brought two projects with much larger price tags to the board’s attention for consideration in future budgets. He noted that the lights at the softball field are going to need replacing, at an estimated cost of $265,000.
“We have talked about those lights for a few years now and every year the cost to replace them goes up,” mayor Patrick Taylor said. “When we first looked at it, maybe five years ago now, the estimate was $225,000. New lights are needed and they would be a benefit to the folks who live in that neighborhood, we just need to figure out when to do it.”
Norris also advocated for replacing the Houston House in a future budget year. The cost estimate for that project is $2 million.
“The Houston House is where we have our summer camp and that building is nearing the end of its useful life,” Norris said. “What I think would be best is to replace it with a larger multi-use building that could host not only the summer camp but also a variety of other activities. I think a building in the 8,000 square foot range would be more suited to what we need versus the current 900 square foot building.”
The board will consider budget requests from each town department prior to submitting the 2021-22 budget for a public hearing in May.