Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Daughtry presented a list of top 10 department needs during Tuesday’s budget work session.
Rochelle playground equipment
Topping out the list is new playground equipment at Rochelle Park, which was installed over 30 years ago, she said. “Most of the equipment is rusty, outdated, and out of compliance with today’s playground safety standards. Several pieces are missing and on the verge of becoming a hazard.”
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The department has received funding for pickleball courts at this location with occupancy tax funding from the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We would like to make improvements to this park so that the playground is not a hazard and eyesore, as pickleball will draw a wide age range of participants.”
Estimated cost: $75,000 to include the playground, swings, soft surface and border.
Emry Skatepark and parking lot
Daughtry said $15,000 was allocated last year for this project.
A local citizens group has raised $30,000 for the project.
An additional $15,000 is being requested to complete the skatepark section of the old tennis courts. “This total funding, with donations from local businesses for demolition and labor, will cover demolishing the old courts and completing the section of the new skatepark.”
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In order to complete this project, the department is also requesting $70,000 to install additional parking in the remaining footprint of the old tennis courts. “During spring sports, the Emry Park parking lot and the overflow lot are completely full. It is also impossible to get down Cleveland and Ninth streets when games are going on,” she said. “This would alleviate some of this parking issue and complete this project.”
For the additional parking area, the department would reroute the trail or have a crosswalk.
Estimated cost: $15,000 for skatepark plus $70,000 for the additional parking for a total of $95,000
Rochelle restrooms
The restrooms at Rochelle Park are currently locked because the drainage system needs a total replacement, she said. “The facility itself is dilapidated. With the addition of the new pickleball courts at Rochelle Park — and hopefully a new playground — a new restroom facility needs to be provided to accommodate the increased traffic in the park.”
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The replacement of the restrooms would allow the department to complete much needed repairs at this park and make it more presentable and appealing to residents, she said.
Estimated cost: $80,000 to demo old restrooms and replace with two single-stall restrooms.
Museum/Kirkwood supervisor
The Roanoke Canal Museum supervisor position has been frozen since 2020.
“We have had to reduce the number of operating hours and rely on a parttime person to handle tours, deposits and payroll,” Daughtry said. “We are not able to participate in outreach to draw patrons to this facility. The Roanoke Canal Museum holds the rich history of how our city was formed and developed. This facility and trail is such an important part of Roanoke Rapids and we are just letting it sit there.”
The museum, she said, needs a fulltime person who is dedicated to providing tours and programs at this facility. “But this position may have been viewed in the past as one that did not have as much responsibility as our other center supervisors.”
Daughtry is requesting to unfreeze this position and add the supervision of Kirkwood Adams Community Center as part of the responsibility. “Kirkwood is currently managed by the T.J. Davis Center supervisor and this can be overwhelming.”
The TJ Davis supervisor is in charge of the city’s largest recreation facility with the largest number of patrons in any of the city’s facilities yearly. “This supervisor needs all of their time to focus on providing programming to our youth, promoting positive health benefits, self-esteem, a sense of community, as well as helping to shape them into independent, productive citizens,” she said. “We feel that the museum and Kirkwood would be better served under one supervisor and would allow a fulltime position to have time to manage both.”
This would allow the museum to open additional days, provide outreach to schools and civic groups, provide tours, administrative duties for both facilities, as well as someone who can focus on managing the challenges that come with a rental facility. “Each of these facilities may not seem to have enough responsibility to have their own fulltime position, but there is more than enough work and justification for this fulltime position by combining these responsibilities.”
TJ recreation software
Currently all reservations and registrations have to be completed on paper, in person, at the facility. “Every facility except TJ Davis is cash/check only,” Daughtry said. “Recreation software companies provide data that shows an average of 30 percent revenue increases when online registration software is used.”
This software, she said, will help the department keep track of how many participants the city has across all of its parks, recreation, and athletic areas. “It can be used to schedule field usage, reserve park shelters, sports league registrations, camp registrations, class registrations, room reservations, swimming lessons, facility admission (and other items).”
This online system would be used at TJ Davis, Chaloner, the Roanoke Canal Museum, and the Aquatic Center for all registrations/admission. “It will also be used at the Senior Center for Centennial Park rental. This software will reduce the number of hours our staff spends counting and calculating numbers, as well as provide much more convenience to our citizens who are looking to sign up for programs.”
The department has spoken with two companies and has been told it appears either system will be compatible with OpenGov.
Estimated cost: $6,000/year
TJ roof leaks
There are several areas in the building that regularly leak with heavy rain. Maintenance staff and hired contractors have made several attempts to stop the leaks but have not had long term success. “We would really like to get the facility painted, but feel that it would be important to fix the roof leaks before we pay to paint the inside of the building.”
Estimated cost: To be determined.
Kirkwood windows
There are still many windows in Kirkwood Adams Community Center with broken seals, Daughtry told the council. “In addition to lost energy and efficiency, the windows always give the appearance of being dirty and foggy.”
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The facility is rented most weekends and many people come from out of town to visit this facility. “This gives a bad impression to people visiting our community and to the renters who pay for the use of this facility.”
Half of the damaged windows were replaced in the previous fiscal year, and this money will allow the department to replace the remaining windows.
Estimated cost: $20,000
TJ painting
The basketball gyms are in serious need of repainting, she said.
“Rust spots on metal beams are increasing and threatening permanent damage. The lobby and outside of the building has faded and chipped paint.”
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TJ Davis was last renovated in 2000 — 25 years ago. “There have been attempts to repaint scuffs and damaged areas and these areas do not match,” Daughtry said. “This is our largest recreation facility, with the largest number of our patrons coming through this facility each year. This facility is the face of the parks and recreation department and looks very outdated and uninviting to patrons.”
Estimated cost: Gym — $80,000; Lobby — $12,000; Exterior — $14,000
Library computers
The library is requesting to replace 17 computers.
This would include the public and staff computers. “These computers are between 10 and 12 years-old. They often freeze and need rebooting throughout the day.”
Estimated cost: $16,000.
Emry restrooms
The restrooms at Emry Park are in need of a complete remodel, Daughtry told the council.
“The partitions are rusty, the fixtures are old and stained, and the paint is peeling. No matter what our maintenance team tries to do to clean these restrooms, they continue to hold germs in all of the damaged areas.”
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She said many parents refuse to use these restrooms or allow their children to use them. “New doors, partitions, fixtures and paint would drastically improve the appearance and usability.” Said Daughtry: “Emry has a decent playground, ballfield, shelter, and hopefully the tennis courts will be replaced with a beginner skatepark and much needed additional parking. The renovation to the restrooms would allow us to complete this park with much needed repairs and make it more presentable and appealing to our residents.”
Estimated cost: $20,000
Budget info
City Manager Kelly Traynham told the council afterward at the next meeting there will be a first pass of a balanced budget proposal presented and then “see where we go from there. As far as our revenue outlook, I think most things would be relatively flat — there’s not really any substantial increases in things, but hopefully no substantial decreases.”
She said the revenue project memo received from the North Carolina League of Municipalities does require some analysis and looking at prior year data to anticipate what the local situation will be. “We’re looking for some stability and to make the best use of funds to impact the greatest amount of people within our community.”
In February Traynham told the council the budget is being prepared with no adjustment to the tax rate and in March she said it’s not anticipated that federal cuts will impact the financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year.
