When your specialty is providing things for the community to do and places to do them at, the type of restrictions that come with a global pandemic aren’t particularly good for business.

 

But it also doesn’t mean that it slowed down Bridgeport Parks and Recreation.

 

“There were a lot of challenges this year with COVID,” Parks and Recreation Director Joe Shuttleworth said during his department report at least week’s City Council meeting. “It’s really affected the way we operate.

 

“The swimming pool, we couldn’t get comfortable with the guidelines that came out so we didn’t open. At the Rec Complex, we opened it up for practice when it was allowed and then for games with strict policies in place.

 

“Programs and special events have been a mess. Most of our programs did not happen. A lot of our special events did not happen. Cemetery operations were no different, having to go through the numbers on how many people we were allowed to have at a funeral service.

 

“But we stayed busy.”

 

There were certainly plenty of highlights in Shuttleworth’s report, including work done in maintaining the parks and plenty of projects completed at both existing sites and with The Bridge Sports Complex which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021.

 

“I think we have some of the nicest looking parks in the region,” he said. “I try to engrain that in our staff and I think they really accept that challenge.”

 

Shuttleworth noted that a new porch was built for the Civic Center as well as the sidewalk and steps alongside the Civic Center were replaced. Work will begin soon for the new roof for the Civic Center.

 

At the City Park, a new goal post for the football field was put up and a new swing set that is handicap accessible was just installed in conjunction with the Bridgeport Lions Club.

 

Several slips on the walking trail at the City Park have been addressed.

 

The softball fields at the City Park as well as some of the fields at the Rec Complex were laser graded.

 

“At the Rec Complex, the C-Ball and T-Ball fields were laser graded and we added a lot of sidewalks and bleacher pads,” Shuttleworth said.

 

“One good thing about the spring it allowed us with no people on the fields to finetune some of the things. We rebuilt just about all of the pitchers mounds (on the fields at the Rec Complex).

 

Sod work at the Rec Complex was also scheduled to begin last week.

 

At Compton Park, a new swing set was installed as well as a GaGa Ball Pit, a project you can read more about HERE.

 

Another big development was at the Rt. 131 Annex Site which is home to the Parks and Recreation maintenance garage.

 

“ We can fit all of our mowers, all of our equipment in there the one big plus with this is we’ve taken the rec complex staff and parks staff and all our seasonal staff and we are all operating out of the same building now,” Shuttleworth said. “It’s created a lot of continuity. It’s allowed us to spread out. It’s allowed us to cross train staff so now when we have someone on vacation on the rec complex staff we can slide other people in there.”

 

Shuttleworth estimated that they removed more than 100 ash trees from the parks over the past year. Parks and Rec also upgraded the electrical services at the Lakes that serve the tennis courts and have put in memorial benches at the Rec Complex and Compton Park.

 

Recreation Coordinator Katie Squires had to get creative with some activities for the community with so many regular events put on hold or called off. She succeeded with things like some well-received scavenger hunts, including one based off the popular board game Clue.

Another new event is lined up for next weekend with the Parks and Rec’s first-ever Boo-Thru.

 

You can read more about the Boo-Thru HERE.

 

As far as The Bridge goes, Shuttleworth has stayed busy working with acquiring such items as the FieldTurf, a Clip and Climb, scoreboards and lockers.

 

Three staff members have been hired for The Bridge in General Manager Droo Callahan, Director of Business Development & Events Andrew Kurtz and Finance Manager Carlee Dulaney.

 

Still to hire are an operations manager, aquatic manager, fitness and membership manager, sports manager(s), a marketing coordinator and an experience manager.

 

Shuttleworth also praised the work of Cemetery Manager Tricia Bombardiere, who in addition to limiting crowd sizes for funeral services had to navigate through such events as the Memorial Day observance. He added that her work with the monument sales really helped out the department’s budget.

 

The efforts of each facet of Parks and Recreation weren’t lost on City Council.

 

“It’s part of the pride of Bridgeport,” Councilman Dustin Vincent said. “It’s the Parks and Rec Department and all the facilities. You especially look at the way the walking trails are kept up, it doesn’t go unnoticed. The entire department does a great job.”

 

Editor's Note: Top and bottom photos are of Shuttleworth at the most recent City Council member. Second photo is of the installation of the goal post at the City Park and the third photo is one of the contestants in Brideport Clue this summer.