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It has been more than a year since Columbus City Council approved a parks improvement project that included about $3.4 million worth of updates to Propst Park.
Recreation Director Greg Lewis told The Dispatch the first phase of Propst improvements, converting the former softball fields to turf baseball fields, is mostly complete.
“The turf, the bases, everything is down on the fields,” Lewis said. “What happens next is that we have to do the electrical and the concrete. That’s at the baseball fields.”
So what else is left to be done at Propst? What other parks are a part of the project? And when will it be finished?
What is the plan?
In May 2023, the city voted to borrow $3 million in bonds to fund the parks project, with an additional $1.4 million coming from tourism sales tax revenue.
The majority of the plan is focused on making improvements to Propst Park, including relocating and turfing the baseball fields, updating lighting at the Field of Dreams and improving the existing pavilions. Updating the playground and the splash pad are also on the to do list along with installing pickleball courts.
These improvements will help raise the quality of life for people who use the park, Lewis said, as well as encourage participation in young athletes.
“Now our kids will have the opportunity to play on the same type of surface before they get to another town or tournament,” he said. “Just like in colleges or high schools, the better the facilities, the better training we’re going to be able to give our children, and I think it will also entice them to … participate.”
But the plan goes beyond only updates at Propst Park.
“People tend to forget … we’re going to be doing renovations at all of our neighborhood parks as well,” Lewis said. “Those are in the starting phases, but we want the community to know we’re going to be getting into our other neighborhood parks as well.”
Those plans include installing new playground equipment at Lee and Northaven Woods Parks and renovating several community centers.
Townsend and Sandfield community centers will both receive parking lot paving. New flooring has already been installed at Townsend, Lewis said, and Sandfield will get new flooring next.
The entire project is slated to be finished by spring 2025.
What else needs to be done at Propst?
Once concrete is laid at the new baseball fields, Lewis said the next step will be converting the former fields for softball.
“It looks like we’ll be getting ready to bid on those in August and convert them from baseball to girls softball,” he said.
After that, work will begin on other updates in the park. Updates to the park’s playground and splash pad will cost a combined $410,000. Lewis said an application has been submitted for a grant to help purchase the playground equipment.
“We want to get an (Americans with Disabilities Act compliant) surface down, so we’ve decided to delay the playground for a moment to see what’s going to happen with the grant we have,” he said.
As for the splash pad, work will begin there once the summer season is over. Planning for the new pickleball courts is already well underway, Lewis said.
“We are in the process of getting ready to bid pickleball facilities,” he said. “Our engineer, Neel Schaffer, is looking at what’s going to be the best option to take on recapping the surfaces of those fields.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
