The Ashland Park Board met on August 12, opening with public comments from Melissa and Addison Wassman. They proposed placing free public “libraries” in the park or other city locations, in which people could give/take books from a bookcase repository. The idea received positive support, but with the suggestion that they examine additional location possibilities, such as in the downtown area.

For this meeting, the board’s most debated issue concerned the park’s tennis courts, in which the board voted to close the courts due to safety considerations involving the cracks and surface “pot holes” found throughout the area. Public Works Director James Creel indicated that he could not state that the courts are safe to use at this time. The Park Board voted to close the courts until the city council could approve a course of action that would repair or replace existing surfaces, as all spending proposals from the recently approved park tax must be approved by the city council, not the park board. The Park Board did not put a date as to when the courts would be closed, providing the opportunity for the city council to weigh in on this topic at its next council meeting.

During the two hour meeting the Park Board members also:

• Approved December 6th for the Christmas parade in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce;

• Determined an adult softball league would be challenging in getting enough teams to cover costs, but will examine hosting a 3v3 soccer tournament next year…

~ Get more in today’s Journal ~

By Ernie Wren

Photo: Ashland’s newest florist was honored by the SoBoCo Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting held last Friday during the shop’s grand opening weekend. In ANY Event owner Jessica Ward offered up a variety of prizes and refreshments to weekend visitors.