The playground at Fireman's Beach was a main topic once again at the Conneaut Lake Borough Council meeting in July.

Beach Manager Mike Mihoci was in attendance in order to bring Council up to speed about all things beach. Since the playground is located on the beach, it fell under his jurisdiction, so to speak.

Parts of the wooden facility have been in disrepair for some time and Council imparted that they simply do not have the funds to repair or replace it.

Last winter, Mayor Tim Kaider said that he, and some others, had been looking into state and federal grants in order to possibly have new equipment installed that would be more age appropriate.

One issue with the playground is that it offers older kids, in the teenage years, a place to hide, if and when they want, to smoke illegal substances, drink or carry out other unsavory activities. Council has mentioned this on numerous occasions and the police have stepped up their patrol efforts to thwart such behavior.

Mihoci described the playground as an eye sore, a mess and a haven for inappropriate activities. Locking the gate was brought up but was immediately shot down as it was concluded that it would not deter the above mentioned goings on.

Back to the costs of upkeep, the mulch alone for under the swings etc., is very costly and since the borough is running a deficit, they simply cannot afford to replace it.

Streetsman Mark “Smitty” Smith and Council President Richard Holabaugh check on the equipment on a regular basis and do their best to keep it in order. It appears to be an ongoing project.

The bottom line for the playground is that the borough does not have the financing to do anything currently. They are going to continue on the path of grant research and will take up the issue again this winter.

In other beach news, Mihoci reported that it had been a fairly good year thus far. He said that there had been no real major instances of having to call police or ambulance services.

There are still a few docks that are available and there was some light discussion about whether or not to offer discounts since the season is underway.

After much deliberation, Council decided not to offer a discount at this time but left the door open to perhaps offering one in the future.

The PennDOT Garden, located adjacent from the Catholic Church at the intersections of Routes 6 and 285, was also discussed. An individual from PennDOT contacted Borough Secretary Linda Joyce and expressed some displeasure about the current looks of said garden.

The borough received a grant a while ago to plant the garden with the stipulation that after PennDOT was finished with the planting, etc., it would be maintained by either a club or the borough.

A garden club member had come forward at a past meeting and told Council that the club, Green Anchors, would take on the responsibility of upkeep and maintenance.

It turned out that the person who had made the promise did not have the permission of other club members, according to borough officials.

Holabaugh threw out having more color in the garden and said that he would like to have Joyce find out what exactly PennDOT wanted to see.

Joyce said it was her understanding that the main objection to the appearance of the area was not really the plants and flower arrangements or color, but was a weeding a maintenance concern.

Borough resident Wilma Davis mentioned maybe getting in touch with the Pennsylvania Conservancy and ask what they would do. She said they might be able to aid in one way or the other.

Smitty said that he had been told in the very beginning that this deal would need very little maintenance.

Holabaugh said the bottom line of this particular situation is to get a schedule together in terms of what needs to be done and when, so that whatever volunteer group they might find would be able to follow a plan.

There is a new pick up schedule for the recycling items in the borough. Conneaut Lake's bins actually service the entire area as there are not other ones anywhere near by. The items will be retrieved on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays now.

More bins have arrived as well which might help with some of the junk that accumulates in the region surrounding the bins.

Area residents are reminded that the speed limit through the borough is now 25 mph.

The next Conneaut Lake Borough Council meeting will take place on August 11. The meetings are held at the ambulance service building and begin at 7:30. Area residents are invited and encouraged to attend.