Smalley Park gets second chance at grant

Smalley Park will be receiving a $218,000 grant, Shawano Park and Recreation Director Matt Hendricks announced at a Park and Recreation Commission meeting Wednesday.

Hendricks said the city had originally learned that it had come within 1/10 of a point of receiving the grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, but had been denied. He said one of the agencies that had been awarded the grant was unable to fulfill the requirements, and the grant money became available for Smalley Park projects.

“Some components like the canoe/kayak launch and fire pit are back on the table for discussion,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks shared the news to commission members as they reviewed current progress in city park progress. Hendricks noted that although work has begun at Smalley Park, recent rains have delayed some of the excavation work. Work is now being done in the area where the Ski Sharks, a Shawano water ski troupe, perform, he said.

He added that a storage and concessions building used by the Ski Sharks will remain in use for this year, as a permanent building will not be completed in time for the start of this year’s ski season. Additional projects that will be made possible by the grant money will be scheduled for construction next year, he said.

In reviewing the Smalley Park site, commission members noted the lack of geese at the park. Hendricks said that geese have been less of a problem, most likely due to heavy April snows for two consecutive years. That disrupted their usual patterns of behavior and made it less likely for the geese to return, he said.

He said he is studying ways to discourage any returning geese from making the park a permanent home. Effective tools are radio-controlled boats and drones, he said. Dogs and hikers who try to shoo them away just push them temporarily into the water and are not effective deterrents, he said.

Franklin Park

A bathroom across the street from Franklin Park will be built this year, Hendricks said, but will not be available for use until next year.

The bathroom will have a green space buffer and will be heated, though is not expected to be comfortable for year-round use, he said. Bids on the project are expected to be selected by mid-July with construction beginning in September.

Surveys

Two projects involving both public education and feedback are now underway, Hendricks reported.

The first is an effort to provide information and collect opinions on the possibility of a city of Shawano-Shawano School District joint venture to create a recreation center next to Shawano Community High School.

Hendricks outlined a calendar including public information sessions in Shawano and the towns of Wescott, Richmond, Waukechon and Belle Plaine. He said there are also plans to attend club meetings and open houses at the high school and Shawano City Hall.

“Our goal is to provide factual information, not to persuade,” Hendricks said.

The proposal calls for a warm water pool, running track, gym, fitness area, and racketball court attached to the existing pool area at Shawano Community High School. Both the school district and Shawano Common Council have agreed to study the idea, though neither has made a commitment to the project itself.

“We will do a survey,” Hendricks said. “If the community doesn’t want it, it won’t happen.”

Plans are to present information in June and July, conduct the survey in August and September, and if the survey points to community support, place the item on a future ballot as a school referendum.

Efforts to gather community input on current Shawano parks is also underway, he said.

Hendricks and Trish Nau, principal recreation planner for the East Central Regional Planning Commission, outlined an update of a five-year park plan that is now getting started. The plan begins with community surveys.

The project is an important part of the planning process, Hendricks said.

“I would say that 85 percent of the five year plan from before are now completed,” he said.