Staff photo / Mason Cole Oliver Busse, left, and Domnick King, both of Niles, paint the Stevens Park concession stand Friday.

NILES — City officials are discussing how to improve local parks in the coming months.

One of the sites discussed at a recent public grounds committee meeting was Iowa Park.

The park, located between Iowa Avenue and Dakota Avenue south of the Mahoning River, is set to receive about $25,000 worth of improvements, including a new basketball court and hoop, a new swing set and safety bollards.

One issue emerging regards equipment set to be moved from Waddell Park to Iowa Park.

The city operates seven parks.

The largest is Waddell Park, where the city’s wellness and recreation center is located.

In 2022, the city received $2.5 million in funding through a U.S. Senate earmark to enhance Waddell Park.

At a February meeting of city council, Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz said salvageable playground equipment removed during the improvements to Waddell Park could be installed at Iowa Park.

During the meeting 2nd Ward Councilman Aaron Johnstone, who co-chairs the committee along with Councilman at-Large Doug Sollitto, said the initial plan was to move a small, four-person “teeter-totter,” to Iowa Park.

“That piece of equipment can’t be moved,” Johnstone said. “It was found out that it was purchased through grant money, it has to stay at Waddell.”

It would have cost the city approximately $12,000 to relocate the teeter-totter to Iowa Park.

Niles Parks and Recreation Director Mark Pallante said the city is not sure where the device will end up in Waddell Park, but he said it will be incorporated along with the new equipment.

“(The teeter-totter) has to stay somewhere in Waddell Park,” he said.

With the teeter-totter not able to be moved, the Niles parks and recreation department suggested moving the playground equipment from Waddell to Iowa Park.

Johnstone said the best bid the city received to move the playground equipment is for approximately $35,000.

“It’s not just moving it, they are going to refurbish the equipment in that quote,” Johnstone said. “This is new hardware, new poles, there’s a bit of refurbishment that takes place on top of the moving costs.”

If bought new, the playground equipment and its installation would cost about $80,000, according to Pallante. Johnstone said council would likely never appropriate that much funding for new equipment at Iowa Park.

“This could be an opportunity for that park that they may never see again,” he said. “To get a piece of equipment like this for ($35,000), I don’t think would ever happen again.”

With new improvements coming to Waddell Park, this certain playground equipment is no longer needed.

According to the city’s comprehensive plan, such improvements to Waddell Park include adding a splash pad, restrooms, a gazebo, new playground equipment and improvements to its baseball field.

Johnstone said if the equipment is not moved to Iowa Park, it will be removed and scrapped.

“They don’t need it; they want to use that space for something else,” Johnstone said.

Sollitto said the move would “shine on all” of council and the city administration. He said there is enthusiasm in the neighborhood regarding the plans.

“Everybody is just thrilled about revitalizing their neighborhood park,” he said.

Not everyone at the committee meeting was as enthusiastic about the potential $35,000 equipment move.

Todd Weddell, D-2nd ward, said Niles already has several large parks to which residents can travel. He said those parks are in need of funding for improvements.

“Just to throw this kind of money at a small, neighborhood park, isn’t sitting well at this time with me,” Weddell said.

Sollitto said residents living on the city’s south side, across the viaduct, should not have to drive several miles to a city park.

“To say the only option is you’ve got to have mom or dad drive you two miles across town to get to a park, I don’t think that’s convenient,” Sollitto said.

Mientkiewicz noted that if council wants to allocate the approximately $35,000 to move the playground equipment to Iowa Park, it can only be done after the new equipment is installed at Waddell Park.

“We’re still going to have people playing on it,” Mientkiewicz said. “We don’t have to rush into this; we’re still a little bit out. We didn’t even go to bid yet for the Waddell Park grant.

“Whenever you do this, you do it. It can be done. But again, the first phase, the hoop, the court and the swingset is already moving.”

Johnstone said the timeline he was told is that the new equipment is expected to be installed at Waddell Park by the end of summer or beginning of fall. He said council would then have to decide if it wants to move the old equipment to Iowa Park.

Johnstone said one issue council faces is whether the price of the project increases by that time. Mientkiewicz said that is an issue the city has encountered with other projects.

“We’re seeing, with companies we deal with, they’re not locking in for six to eight months down the road,” Mientkiewicz said. “They’ll put you under contract, subject to current-day pricing. That’s the issue we’re facing right now.”

In terms of the current upgrades to Iowa Park, Pallante expects the new swing set, basketball court and hoop to be installed “sometime this summer.”

STEVENS PARK DONATION

Another improvement underway comes through a donation and act of volunteerism at Stevens Park.

Jason Busse, owner of Niles Paint, along with his crew have been repainting the concession stand at Stevens Park, which is used during youth soccer games, at no expense to the city.

Busse said Sherwin-Williams provided most of the paint for the project and that Niles Paint provided the labor.

The volunteer project was approved through the Niles Park Board.

Sollitto said Busse is “really trying to help and has helped” around the city.

The structure at Stevens Park is one of several painting projects Busse has donated to the city. He said he tries to do one per year.

Busse said projects his crews have donated to the city include painting the band shell at Bo Rein Memorial Stadium, the press boxes and all of the concession stands at the parks.

Raised in Niles, Busse said the paint jobs are his way of giving back to the city.

“The mentality we have in the city here is, ‘Once a Dragon, always a Dragon,'” Busse said. “When you have an opportunity to give back to a community that made you who you are, then it’s something you take advantage of. It gives the people something to be proud of.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Mason Cole by email at mcole@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @masoncoletrib.