Goshen Parks opens new storage, maintenance shed
GOSHEN — A new storage and maintenance facility will give the Goshen Parks Department room to continue to grow.
The department cut the ribbon on an 8,000-square-foot building at 610 E. Plymouth Ave. The facility has enough space to store the fleet of pickup trucks, lawnmowers and utility vehicles used by a fulltime maintenance staff of six people and seasonal help of around 15 more.
It also offers a wash bay for those vehicles as well as room to keep the tools and equipment needed to keep the parks facilities running.
“We do have some repairs of picnic tables that we take care of in here,” said Parks Superintendent Tanya Heyde. “There are small tools and machines that are used for minor repairs to everything from drinking fountains to parts that may need a small weld to them. Some of our park facility doors are repaired here. We have our paint room for all of our outdoor facilities and buildings.”
The building has room to store not just everyday supplies like cleaning products but also large seasonal items, such as the silhouettes that go on display in Shanklin Park at Christmas time and the 300-foot water slides that take tube riders down Abshire Hill in the summer.
The facility replaces a smaller building at the north end of Shanklin Park. The land was prone to flooding and Heyde recalled staff members having to move equipment and vehicles every time there was a risk of heavy rain.
The city began putting plans together in 2021. The $2.5 million cost of the new facility was covered by tax increment finance district funds controlled by the Goshen Redevelopment Commission.
Heyde said the parks facilities see a lot of use and that the department has grown a lot since it was formed in the 1950s.
“I think every year we gain a little bit, whether it’s by an improvement to an existing park or the addition to our total acreage. I’ve been in this position since late 2016, early 2017, and I can tell you that even just since then we have grown by leaps and bounds,” she said. “We’re thankful that the community really takes advantage of their parks and trail system, and because of that I think that we remain on the forefront of planning for them too, citywide.”
