SALEM – The parks department is continuing to pursue grant funding for improvement projects throughout the parks.

During the recent Parks Commission’s meeting, Parks Director Kelli Pastore told the commissioners that the department’s application for the 2026 Keep America Beautiful grant was complete. She also said that she was in the process of finalizing an application for a grant to potentially fund the construction of a playground at 364 Sharp Avenue. The approximately .35-acre property was donated to the department by the Columbiana County Parks District in September.

Pastore said she was also working with Ohio Mid-Eastern Government Association GIS Coordinator/Infrastructure Planner Corinna Kerns to prepare an application for to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Recreational Trails Grant which “would cover the cost to resurface the Nature Trail from the maintenance shop and through the woods” and the nearby bridge adjacent to Terry Metts Field in Waterworth Memorial Park.

The completed mural on the bandshell at Waterworth Memorial Park has been posted to the Ohio Arts Council’s website and the murals Across Ohio Registry. Pastore said that the murals at the handball courts would be added later that week. Pastore also asked the commissioners whether they felt the department should seek funding to install pickleball courts or a skating rink at Centennial Park in the department’s upcoming NatureWorks Grant application.

The commissioners voted unanimously to submit the application for funding for an all-weather skating rink.

The commission also discussed several upcoming events in the parks. Pastore told the commissioners that 170 people had signed up for the upcoming Shamrock Run on Sunday, and that as many as 250 to 300 runners are expected to participate in total.

Pastore also announced that the department would be partnering with MAC Trailer and First Christian Church to bring more inflatables and live music to the annual celebration before the fireworks on July 3, and that Woogity Woodshop was still set to do a patriotic tree carving on the large stump near the tennis courts.

Other matters discussed included the ServeOhio Volunteer of the Year Award. Pastore said that in partnership with Bee City USA, the parks department had submitted paperwork to nominate Anissa DiLeo as Volunteer of the Year for “her many hours donated to mural painting and caring for the pollinator garden.” The winners of the award will be announced Thursday.

The parks commission will meet next at 5 p.m. on March 25.