By PAULENE POPARAD

By late next month walkers at Burns Harbor’s Lakeland Park will have a wider, smoother path for their strolls around Harbor Lake.

The Park Board on Wednesday accepted the $8,750 proposal from Harrison Paving to prepare the current 3 foot-wide trail to be repaved and widened to 5 feet, the current standard. The trail also is used for rollerblading in the summer.

Park Board member Dawn Ruge asked if upgrading the walking trail was a priority. Replied park director Kim Burton, “We’ve been talking about it for three years. We’ve done everything our maintenance can do.” Board president Leann Perrine said the park doesn’t want to be liable for injuries if the trail is in poor condition.

The money for Harrison’s work will come from the park’s revenue from CEDIT, Porter County’s income tax. After using $3,700 in CEDIT funds last month to hydroseed grass at the new Bolinger Park in Harbor Trails subdivision, board members discussed whether to put the approximately $2,250 CEDIT balance toward a shelter for Bolinger Park, where a play structure and swings were installed last fall.

Since the park is 1.33 acres in size, board member Clark Hamilton said a regular shelter would be too large. The board asked Burton to obtain prices for a small shelter that would accomodate two picnic tables, or perhaps canopied individual picnic tables.

At Lakeland the board agreed on a trial basis to install a locked recycling receptacle intended for bottles and cans only. “Everyone is so into recycling and green,” said Burton.

In other business the board approved a purchase order for repairs to the Dixie Chopper mower but took no action on replacing the 1999 John Deere front-end mower, the workhorse of the park’s fleet and rated to mow the lake banks; the Deere has been requiring repeated maintenance for some time.

When discussing where to get money for a tractor purchase, Ruge was asked to contact developer Dick Davis of Parkwood Estates who as part of that 40-lot subdivision’s 2007 approval pledged to give the park $30,000 when a percentage of lots were sold. Burton said it could cost up to $15,000 for a contract service to mow Lakeland alone during the summer season.

The Park Board with member Ron Day absent heard Hamilton report he has one artist lined up to contribute a piece for a proposed sculpture walk along Lakeland’s pedestrian path; Hamilton said next month he’ll submit proposed guidelines for the project. Perrine also said the new benches at Shadyside Park are well used, and she suggested a new piece of play equipment be installed. “That park is constantly full there.”

Burton said this season the Lakeland gazebo will be pressure washed and waterproofed, and Ruge reminded skateboarders they can’t use the gazebo for a jump course.

Lakeland Park opens Memorial Day for the official summer season, and the park’s first children’s day camp will be June 23-27. Burton said a partition wall in Lakeland’s arts and crafts building restroom has been removed making it handicapped accessible.

Posted 5/8/2008