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Operation and Recreation Supervisor Aarica Stephenson called it a “little slice of normal.”
The Perry Park Center reopened for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday and for Stephenson it was a welcomed sight and even emotional.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but I got teary-eyed,” Stephenson said. “We have some die-hard regulars that have their times that they come in every day. There was one in particular that I see five days a week, and he came in and knocked on my window and waved. It was nice to see people back in the building.”
The Park Center had been closed since March 18, but even with the reopening of the Park Center comes with it some precautions. The biggest being that the Park Center changed its hours throughout at least May.
The Park Center will be open 5 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, then 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday. The building will close two hours earlier to allow employees to properly sanitize equipment.
“We have a cleaning crew that comes in and does their thing,” Parks and Recreation Director Jim Cadwell said. “But we are also cleaning throughout the day, closing at 7 p.m. so that when people come in the next day, everything is good to go.”
Other precautions include, all equipment such as volleyballs and basketballs must be checked out at the front desk. Children under 13 must be supervised during their visit.
The Riverside Regional Library will be reopening in phases, as recommended in state and federal guidelines. The library entered phase one on Wednesday and will offer contactless curbside service at all branches. Patrons can call or email local branches and have items pulled from the shelves or holds placed, and then schedule a time to pick them up. All library locations have reopened all drop boxes for returns and have turned up our Wi-Fi at each location so that it reaches out into parking lots.
The Park Center will extend all memberships to reflect the time lost because of the center’s closure. Cadwell said that while inside the Park Center he hopes that patrons will adhere to social distancing guidelines.
“We want to keep people safe while they enjoy the amenities at the Park Center,” Cadwell said. “That is our top priority.”
Those guidelines are extended to the weight room and the pool. Cadwell said that exercise machines have been moved around or in some cases taken out entirely to help keep people separated.
“Every piece of equipment is at least six feet from the machine next to it,” Cadwell said. “As long as you’re not standing next to each other and working out on a machine, you should be socially distant.”
Precautions have also been taken so that the movie theatre can be opened as well. The theater showed Trolls: World Tour on Monday, but moviegoers may have seen a difference in seating as people were separated by at least two rows. The movie will be shown at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. through March 27, except on Sundays when the movie will be shown once at 2 p.m.
All playground equipment in the City Park is open, as well as the disc golf course. Cadwell again hopes people will stay safe and adhere to social distancing.
One of those outside activities that Cadwell and Perryville City Administrator Brent Buerck hopes to have back in the future is Little League baseball and softball. The sign-ups have been extended through May 18.
“I love the idea of having little league if kids and their parents feel comfortable participating,” Buerck said. “That’s ultimately what it comes down to.”
Buerck noted there will be precautions put in place such as additional time between games so that players and their parents can clear out. There are things we can do locally that make playing a safer experience.”
All things considered, Stephenson felt that the reopening of the Park Center was smooth.
“This is an ever-evolving situation and I think everyone has been thrown for a loop,” Stephenson said. “We had a couple of hiccups, but everyone is going with the flow right now and they were very patient which we appreciated.”
