Jagow Park, one of Hiram’s two primary parks, is about to receive a small upgrade.
The village recently received a $130,296 Community Development Block Grant to make the park’s playground surface ADA-compliant and to create a pathway from the accessible parking area to the playground.
Council learned last week that the CDBG grant was approved. Don’t look for work to get underway anytime soon. According to the grant’s conditions, CDBG personnel still have to complete an on-site assessment, and the money won’t be in Hiram’s municipal pocketbook for a year.
Long-range plans Village Administrator Steve Schuller presented to council in February include making Jagow Park even more ADA-compliant, replacing its aging pavilion, resurfacing the cracked basketball court, and replacing the portable toilets with permanent restroom facilities, Mayor Anne Haynam said.
Hiram village officials are scouting funds for those projects, focusing on grants that do not require matching funds, Haynam said. Should those turn out to be the only grants that are available, the mayor said a good, hard look at village finances would be the next step.
Hiram has also applied for $625,000 from the state’s 2024 capital budget for the Jagow Park project, but there’s no indication if or when that money would be awarded.
Village officials are considering Reign Hadsell Park, Hiram’s other main recreation area, for a sandpit volleyball court, official wiffle ball field and improved pathways, but no funds have been approved for any of those projects, Haynam said.
Reign Hadsell Park will be the setting for this year’s Picnics in the Park, which will feature live music and art activities. The events will be held the first and third Sundays of each month, excluding the first Sunday of July. They are meant to attract a wider demographic than the families with young children that typically frequent the park, Haynam said.
Also at Hiram’s May 14 council meeting, council approved a contract for a new village website that will allow residents to make secure, online payments for water and sewer bills, citations and permits.
The website will consolidate the Hiram police and village websites and will allow residents to opt in to receive emergency notifications, a community calendar, events updates and village news.
The $3,500 cost for the ReVize Software Systems website is about $900 less than the village is now paying for separate website and emergency notifications contracts. Haynam also noted that the website is so outdated that it would have to be rebuilt from scratch and even then could not handle emergency notifications.
Look for a 20-week building process, so with a hopeful September launch, Haynam said.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.