BUHLER RECREATION PARK NEWS - 2012

Buhler Recreation Park is entering its fifth year of operations and is hoping that the weather and mosquitoes cooperate like it did in 2011.

Looking back on the previous four years, we faced numerous challenges as a new facility from an operations and weather stand point. We have faced those challenges and have learned many valuable lessons from them and have turned them into policies and procedures that we hope will make your park visitations a more pleasurable experience.

In the past four years, the Buhler Recreation Park has hosted numerous championships at the local, provincial and national level.

We were pleased to be chosen as the host site for the:

• 2008 Canadian Senior Ladies Fast Pitch Championships
• 2009 High School Boys Soccer Championships
• 2009 Canadian Field Lacrosse Championships
• 2009 - 2011 Provincial Field Lacrosse Championships
• 2009 - 2011 Provincial Girls Softball Championships
• 2008 - 2011 Numerous League Playoffs

Going into the 2012 season, we once again will be hosting the Provincial Girls Softball Championships in July as well as the High School Boys Field Lacrosse Championships in June.

We are extremely proud of the relationships that we have built with the provincial bodies of the various sports groups but most of all we cherish the support that our local leagues provide to the park on a daily basis.

Moving forward to the 2012 season, users will notice some changes to the park and playing surfaces.

• The pump house that provides irrigation and water to the facility has finally been moved and will enable us to irrigate our playing fields earlier than we have been able to in the past due to high water levels and flooding. The cost of this project was $45,000 and we were able to raise the funds for the move with the help of our city and provincial governments.
  
• The ball fields have now all been completely resurfaced and leveled with two semi loads of infield mix on each field. We are expecting at the beginning of the season that the fields will be a little bit soft but as the year progresses with the help of mother nature and our irrigation system that they should be in ideal condition by mid June. This project also will provide better drainage on the fields and cause fewer weather delays. The total cost of this project was $25,000.
  
• Out at the soccer fields, we were able to purchase a deep tining machine that will enable us to do a more aggressive aeration program on the soccer fields as well as the ball fields. We anticipate to have all of the soccer fields completely aerated and top dressed by mid June which will give us a softer and healthier playing field. The cost of the deep tining machine and dressing was $25,000.

As you can see, we will continue to make improvements to the park for the convenience of the users so that they will have the best playing conditions possible.

In 2012, we are hoping to tackle the entrance road way dust problem by doing a more aggressive calcium treatment on the road ways. We also are hoping to complete our tree planting program as over the past two years we have planted close to fifty thousand trees and the public will start seeing the results of these efforts in the next two to three years.

We will also be continuing to build the trail system within the park by giving the pathways more definition with the adding of woodchips to certain paths and re-grading some of the existing trails. New nature signage will also be noticeable on the pathway systems with the help of the Transcona Trails Association.

As you can see, we strive to make your park experience an enjoyable time by continuing with a planned maintenance and project schedule.

All these items do put pressure on our budgets along with the increasing costs of wages and maintenance supplies but we are doing our best to keep costs down without sacrificing the quality of maintenance that you have become accustomed to. We look forward to your patronage in 2012 and hope that the weatherman smiles on us again.