With a round of Millennium Park upgrades nearing completion, Danville-Boyle County Parks and Recreation Board is already looking towards the future of Millennium Park and discussing future projects for the coming year.  

Parks and Rec Director John Drake presented a list to the board of possible Millennium Park updates and projects last week.  

Drake mentioned possible upgrades like additional tables and benches, restroom upgrades and shade covers over spectator seating.  

Additional projects include adding parking areas for soccer and near the skate park; and repaving the baseball parking area.  

“There’s a need to develop the parking lots,” he said.  

All three would cost a total of $90,000, Drake said. The soccer parking lot would be the cheapest at $15,000. The parking lot near the skate park, which would also be in close proximity to a baseball complex and volleyball court, would cost $35,000. The repaving of the baseball parking are would cost $40,000.  

Along with the parking lots, Drake discussed the need for shade covers over the bleachers in the baseball and softball areas.  

“There’s a health concern in the softball area where there isn’t shade,” he said.

There are people who will not sit in certain areas of the bleachers due to the direct sunlight over them, he said. The estimated cost for the project would be $40,000.  

Drake also mentioned the possibility of a gazebo with a short dock on the lake.

The dock would go out into the water about 20 or 30 feet, he said. If the dock was built, he said it would add a feature for fishers.

The total cost for the project is estimated between $25,000 and $30,000.  

After looking over the list of potential updates and projects, members of the board voiced their opinions on what they thought should be the top priorities in the next year.  

Board member Heather Wheeler said restrooms should be the top priority.  

“They are at the point with their use that they need a facelift,” she said.  

Wheeler has mentioned the restrooms a number of times at board meetings. As a mother of small children, she said there are things she notices in the restrooms and they need to be maintained well and upgraded.  

Other members of the board agreed with Wheeler’s comments about the need for updated restrooms in the park.  

Cost for a bathroom renovation project was estimated at $10,000.  

“I would rather have nicer bathrooms than the parking lot paved or striped,” Wheeler said.  

Along with the restrooms needing an upgrade, Drake said the water fountains and the original trash cans need attention, as well.  

Drake said those kinds of upgrades could go at the top of the priority list for next year.

“There’s 16 years of wear on things like that,” Wheeler said.