The Bethany City Council voted Monday night to save Memorial Park’s merry-go-round from the scrap heap.
The park ride, which dated from early the past century, was disassembled after it developed mechanical problems over the past summer. The city had considered removing the merry-go-round after its insurance carrier had warned about safety issues.
But many area residents, who enjoyed riding on the playground equipment as children, had hoped that a way could be found to repair the equipment.
The council approved, on a 3-0 vote, a motion by Westward Councilman Randy Mann to retain the merry-go-round and put it back into working order.
Mayor Patrick Miller said the parks department has taken steps to eliminate some of the risks at the park but said he believes that the merry-go-round should continue to be an attraction at the park.
Removing the ride, he said, “would be taking a lot of history out of the park.”
Eastward Councilman Todd Williams said that it may not be difficult to repair the merry-go-round. He suggested that safety improvements could be made to the ride and it could be repainted.
Michelle Thomas, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said her staff is trying “to figure out what it really does need.”
“We can’t find any paperwork whatsoever when it was first put in the park,” she said, pointing out that the manufacturer in Fairfield, Iowa, went out of business many years ago.
On another park issue, the council discussed potential improvements in the field lighting system at Memorial Park. The city would spend $58,000 to install 25 new LED lights and to replace wiring under the proposal.
The mayor and City Council would partner with the Parks Department to invest in lighting and infrastructure at the park’s ball fields.
“The fall fields and the summer leagues bring hundreds of people together every year making it one of the most popular and utilized aspects of the park system in Bethany,” Miller said in a news release after the meeting.
“Because of the savings we realized in refinancing the pool debt, we now have an opportunity to use those savings and making real investments in the city parks,” Miller said.
The city has received a request to extend sewer service to a property west of Daily Road outside the city limits. The property owners plan to establish a shop on the site. No action was taken on the request.
The council finished the evening by continuing work on the 2016-17 budget.