Monday night, Director of Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Don Burton and Deputy Director delivered a report to Bridgeport City Council; providing an overview of the last year and a glimpse into the future.

 

As for the past year, much time has been spent developing the northern bay of Bridgeport Recreation Complex; specifically. T-ball and C-ball fields developed to replace those previously located near Johnson Elementary and Wayne Jamison Field, but lost due to construction of the new Johnson Elementary. The two new fields at Bridgeport Recreation Complex were lit up by Musco Lighting, the same company that services all fields within the city’s park sytem with state-of-the-art lighting, Burton said. The new fields also received new fencing, backstops, bleachers and new roofs on dugouts.

 

Another project at the Recreation Complex is the relocation of the scoreboard on Field No. 1.

 

“The location of that scoreboard has been an issue since we built the complex,” said Burton, explaining that the lights on the board interfered with players’ sight of the ball.

 

The addition of a storage building to store soccer and Little League supplies, as well as upgrading of the batting cages – including new hitting turf and netting replacement - are other recent improvements to the complex.

 

Maintenance of the entire complex is an ongoing project; one in which the department takes pride. Crew members have field maintenance at down to a science, Burton said.

 

“This is our sixth year and our guys know what they’re doing,” said Parks and Recreation Director Don Burton. “It’s a pretty stringent process, some of the same processes used at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.”

 

The work and diligence pays off.

 

“We still get the wow factor when people come from out of town and see the facility,” Shuttleworth said of the facility which opened in April of 2012.

 

The department has also been working at Bridgeport City Park, including repair and upgrading of lighting system and playing surfaces. The goal, Burton said, is to bring the quality of the fields at City Park to those at the Recreation Complex. And they are well on their way.

 

“The ball fields are playing better than ever,” he said. “They are in great shape; all the fencing and backstops have been painted, there are new roofs on dugouts and our guys are using a lot of the same techniques (used at Bridgeport Recreation Complex) on those fields to improve quality of the turf.”

 

Tree removal has been another ongoing project. About 65 ash trees – which were dying off – have been removed at City Park and the project was continued at Hinkle and Deegan Lakes, removing some older trees there, as well. That project will likely continue.

 

The department is also in the process of replacing scoreboards at City Park and repairing a slip along the trail system between Virginia Avenue and Bridgeport City Park.

 

“Our city engineer is looking at it and once a solution is determined, we’ll be fixing it,” Burton said.

 

At the Benedum Civic Center, the Parks and Recreation hub, four new security cameras have been installed; three outdoors and one inside. This past winter – just prior to Light Up Night – a new digital sign was installed in the front lawn of the Civic Center. The new state-of-the-art signage is utilized to promote city and community events.

 

The tennis courts at Deegan Lake were completed last year and serve as the home court for Bridgeport High School tennis. At nearby Briarwood, the playground – which had rotted out – has been removed and new equipment will soon replace it.

 

Burton reminded Council that the department also maintains seasonal banners and flowers along Main Street – stretching from Virginia Avenue to Route 131.

 

Shuttleworth then spoke about proposed parks and recreation projects for the future. Read about that in an upcoming article on Connect-Bridgeport.

 

Monday was Burton's last report to Council as he will be retiring in March. Council members thanked him for his unwavering dedication, commitment and a job very well done.