The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
City looking at programs for 2021
Oberlin is still deciding how to best proceed with recreation moving forward in 2021 while keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic and the safety protocol guidelines.
“We are looking to see how we will proceed going forward,” said Oberlin City Manager Rob Hillard. “Not just really parks opening but really recreational programs. We are just looking at the health concerns and focusing on the guidelines from Lorain County Public Health. The governor last year indicated a variety of guidelines that cities are to follow, so we are following those as well as what we are hearing from Lorain County Public Health.”
Hillard said the parks, like Park Street Park, the Oberlin Recreation Complex, Roadside Park and Spring Street Park, are open with a 10-person limit.
“People can access the parks,” he said. “Specifically, we are looking at whether they are more conducive to activities with our recreation programming. We have a variety of programs in the city of Oberlin that we are very proud of, but we had to make the adjustments last year with the pandemic.”
Hillard said the city is looking at the present conditions to see what rules will be in play for this spring and summer.
“It’s as it relates to social distancing and conditions of the equipment,” he said. “Is there going to be a requirement to wipe facilities, and at what frequency? What role does the city play in that? What role do the sponsors of the programs play? Those are the general questions we are looking into as some examples.”
Oberlin, like other cities that have basketball courts, removed the rims from the hoops at Park Street Park to discourage large gatherings.
“We are also evaluating that,” Hillard said regarding putting the rims back on the hoops. “We removed
the rims last summer. We are looking into whether or not to put those back up and how that would work.
“Would there be some signage required and what would that signage say? We’re still operating at the standpoint of 10 people or less in parks and recreation areas.”
Hillard said the city really wants programs to come back this year.
“The bigger picture is our recreation programs and events as we head into the
warmer seasons,” he said. “Youth baseball, youth soccer...we did not have that stuff last year. We had all the concerns about the spread. We are engaged with Lorain County Public Health and our staff to give clear guidance to the community as we move forward. We are still in research mode right now . ... We should have some answers here by February. Obviously, programs need to coordinate their spring seasons and the sooner we know, the better. We take
that very seriously.”
Hillard said Lorain County Public Health is a big help in these decisions.
“When we met with them they had some guideline examples that have been used in other communities,” he said. “So, they are going to be helping us in that regard and also keeping us informed on the state guidance. The 10 person or less rule was key to get started for us, but the key will be what we can do for youth sports and organized sports in general.”