A video of the meeting can be seen below this article and its accompanying pictorial.

JoAnn Johnson opened the discussion with a personal history of the park under Dr. Smith’s leadership. She told the board Dr. Smith “was hired … in the year of 1958” and described the pool, the youth programs, the baseball teams and the Wednesday‑night crowds that made Northside Park a focal point for the city’s children. 

Lorrie Morrison, president and CFO of the Yerger Museum and the Yerger Alumni Association, added that Smith “was there every day, from morning until night,” and urged the board to consider the renaming as part of a broader effort to restore pride and activity to the north side of town.

Supporters pressed for a quick decision so the renaming could be celebrated around Dr. Smith’s birthday, but the board’s tone was cautious. Mayor Don Still said he wanted more public outreach, noting that when the idea first came to his attention, he had to ask, “who is Roscoe Smith,” and several members agreed they needed to make sure the wider community had a chance to weigh in. Board members discussed options, a petition, a neighborhood mailing, or a public hearing, and ultimately voted to table the request until the next meeting on May 6th so they could solicit broader input from residents, particularly those who live on the north side.

The meeting then shifted to the Fair Park pickle and tennis courts project and a set of competing bids. City engineer Jeremy Stone read through the bids the city received and walked the board through the features of the proposals. He explained that one bidder’s base numbers were lower but that Pickletile’s proposal included additional items and options that complicated a straight price comparison. 

Stone said Pickletile’s adjusted base price without windscreens would have been $1,136,583; Pickletile’s full “pickle glass” option totaled $1,393,258; and a hybrid option, chain link around the tennis courts with glass around the pickleball courts, came in at $1,248,043. He also pointed out that Pickletile had included windscreens in its base bid and that, even after removing those to make an apples‑to‑apples comparison, Pickletile was not the low bidder.

Board members pressed on the technical differences. Several asked about soils and slab design; Stone explained the site’s soil conditions required attention and that the project specifications call for post‑tension concrete slabs and an acrylic surfacing system. He confirmed the concrete thickness and surfacing requirements were part of the bid documents and that the contractors’ proposals were being compared against those specifications. 

Questions about warranty and long‑term maintenance came up; Stone said the project carries standard contractor and design warranties, and the board discussed how warranty length and the quality of materials could affect future maintenance costs and the courts’ longevity.

Matt Bond, the company representative who--like Stone--was available online, answered questions about the company’s references and the additional options Pickletile proposed as well as warrantys. Board members noted that two of the bidders had national portfolios of courts and that Pickletile had provided photos and references for other projects; Stone said those references checked out and that the company had worked on courts across the country.

The discussion returned repeatedly to value rather than lowest price. Director Trevor Coffee said he was willing to pay a modest premium for a product and installation that would require less short‑term maintenance, present well to tournament organizers and the public, and potentially draw more users to Fair Park. 

In the end the board voted to award the contract for the hybrid option offered by Pickletile, the chain‑link tennis courts and the glass‑perimeter pickleball courts, at $1,248,043.

City Manager J.R. Wilson used his report to update the board on the future Hope Fire Department site to be constructed at the former Village Shopping Center, where the city has been working to clear hazardous materials and prepare for demolition. Wilson told the board crews have removed asbestos and other hazardous Class‑4 materials from the north‑to‑south shopping‑center buildings and that much of that material “has been pushed out, and they’re hauling it off.” 

He said an excavator is scheduled to begin demolition work the following week and that the city might pursue legal avenues to remove salvage vehicles still stored in the shopping‑center parking lot if their owner does not do so. 

Wilson also touched on other operational items. He reported the city will launch a professional wastewater rate study to ensure rates meet state requirements which are for municipalities to all complete rate studies by 2031 the better reflect systems' needs. He briefed the board on Citywide Cleanup Day, held Saturday, April 18, and said crews and volunteers turned out to collect 710 cubic yards of debris across the city; the cleanup, he said, was well supported and helped clear refuse from public spaces and rights‑of‑way.

In the remainder of the meeting, the board did the following:

• Approved the Boy Scouts’ request to pour a concrete slab under the Huckabee Lake pavilion with the Hope Advertising & Tourist Promotion Commission providing materials.
• Continued work on recreation‑center contracts and related items, with staff still finalizing contract language and delivery schedules.
• Advanced a tourism committee recommendation for a Veterans Memorial design at the Jay Kopecky property and directed staff to explore funding options for inclusion in next year’s budget. A photo of the memorial's design is featured in our pictorial.
• Began site‑development planning for the Hope Water & Light-owned site after the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation reported receiving a nearly half-million dollar grant for site preparation and directed staff to move forward with preliminary engineering.