SALAMANCA — For those prepared to follow the COVID safety guidelines and enter at their own risk, the city’s parks and playgrounds will be open to the public this year.
The Salamanca Common Council gave the OK to open the parks, playgrounds and athletic fields during its regular meeting Wednesday after councilman Barry Smith (I-Ward 3) updated the council on what was discussed during the recreation commission meeting held Tuesday.
“Everyone on the commission said they want to see the ball games playing, they want to see the ball fields working and the playgrounds going,” he said.
Smith said there are guidelines from the state and CDC on what people need to follow when using the parks, especially concerning youth sports leagues. However, he said the representatives from the local youth baseball and football teams in attendance understood they would have to follow the guidelines in order to play.
It was noted that the teams and leagues would be responsible for sanitizing the restrooms at the parks between uses and the city would do a thorough cleaning of them each day.
Mayor Sandra Magiera said the Little League used Crowley Park for part of a season last year and they followed the guidelines then, including social distancing and wearing masks.
Part of the agreement also includes allowing the teams to do concessions, Smith said. If the teams chose to do concessions, he said any costs related to installing safety equipment like shields would be paid for by the leagues and not the city.
Opening the parks also means the youth bureau can go ahead with its summer playground program, Magiera said. Crowley Park’s pavilion could also be rented for events or parties.
“I think it’s a good thing for everybody to get outside as long as they’re following the guidelines like they’re supposed to be,” Smith added. “We will be posting signage stating that you’re using the parks at your own risk.”
Smith said the recreation commission received a couple requests to use the parks for lawn sales or rummage sales, but the commission denied the requests, saying there are other places in the city to hold those.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the council approved the purchase of a new 2020 Ford E-450 ambulance for $181,665.50 from Gorman Emergency Vehicles of Elma.
The purchase would be paid for by funds reserved to specifically to purchase ambulances. City comptroller Kathi Sarver said she won’t know exactly how much will be in the ambulance fund until after the fiscal year is closed out in April, but that additional funds were added to make sure there would be enough.
“During budget, we said we had about $115,000 in the reserve and then we budgeted the difference to about $180,000, so we’ll be within a couple thousand of it,” said councilwoman Janet Koch (D-Ward 5).
The purchase includes a $27,545 power lift, as recommended by First Assistant Fire Chief Tom Sturdevant. Asst. Chief Ed Fredrickson said the power lift could be taken off and put on another new ambulance in the future.
“They really are a back saver and it’s really something we need to look into,” he said. “They can move from ambulance to ambulance at a cost of about $4,000.”
The new ambulance would replace a 2010 Ford model, for which Gorman gave a trade-in estimate of $8,000 to $10,000. The new one is expected to arrive around February 2020, which will give the department time to get more information on the sale of the old one.
Also in the fire department, the council approved applying for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant to request funds for career staff for the department.
The three-year grant would see the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) paying for 75% of two firefighters’ salaries and benefits for the first two years and 35% in the final year, explained grant administrator Sandi Brundage.
“Our share over the three years would be $48,416.15,” she said.
Brundage said, when talking to First Asst. Chief Tom Sturdevant, that the department could see a couple firefighters retire in the next few years, and this grant would be a good way to bring new ones in and get them trained before the retirements.
(Contact managing editor Kellen Quigley at kquigleysp@gmail.com)
