Earlier this week, Tyrone Mayor Jim Kilmartin was seen tossing the basketball at the Reservoir Drive court.
The mayor told The Daily Herald on Wednesday he was likely the first person to use the court since the installation of new backboards.
The work was done this week after the mayor had secured a $5,000 grant through Blair County for the project and other renovations to the court.
In July, council approved $3,798 of the grant money for purchase of the new backboards and pad wraparounds from Recreation Unlimited, Inc. The grant money is also being used to purchase a portable scoreboard from Varsity Scoreboards at a cost of $434.
The remainder of the grant money ($768) will go toward paving of the courts, according to Tyrone Borough Manager Sharon Dannaway. In August council approved the purchase of the portable scoreboard from the low bidder obtained through phone quotes for the purchase. They also approved Duey Paving’s bid of $4,500 for the paving job. Duey Paving was the only bidder for the work. The remaining cost of the paving project is being paid for through a private donation, according to Dannaway.
Kilmartin said the paving work will provide a self-leveling coating similar to a tennis court for the basketball court.
Mayor Kilmartin told The Herald, “I hope to promote the court for use with community leagues.”
He noted the improvements to the basketball court was just one of a number of improvements made at Reservoir Park. He cited recent renovations to the pool, the installation of the hockey rink and upcoming work to improve pavilion 1 and the lower restrooms at the park.
Previous work at the park included the installation of lights and removal of 78 trees at the recommendation of the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources prior to the beginning of this season. New trees that are native to the area were designated to replace the removed ones.
Earlier this year, council approved an application for Community Development Block Grant money that earmarked $65,000 for renovations to Reservoir Park.
In July, Tyrone learned DCNR had approved a grant for $110,000 for renovations to pavilion 1 and the lower restrooms at the park.
The DCNR grant requires a matching amount from the borough. Manager Sharon Dannaway said Tyrone will use the $65,000 from the CDBG money and general fund dollars to come up with the matching amount. The borough’s money from the general fund would be used to pay its own workers doing labor on the project.
Last year, the borough outlined priorities regarding renovations at Reservoir Park. The plans call for the project to be done in phases during the next few years.
The first phase will encompass the pathways to the lower restroom to bring them into ADA (Americans with Disability Act) compliance for easier accessibility, handicap parking for the pavilion 1 area and the pavilion 1 area itself.
Earlier this year, council made changes to the opening and closing dates for part of the park. After a request from councilman Don Boytim, a motion was passed to allow the main gate of the park to remain open to allow access to the pavilion 1/playground until the end of October. The rest of the park will be closed at the end of September. Council agreed to open the main gate to the lower part of the park on April 1 of each year. The rest of the park will open on Memorial Day.
