Cuba Parks and Recreation Board met on March 24 to discuss putting together its Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

Beth Kight, board member, kicked off the meeting by mentioning that the pool budget needs to account for the purchase of a portable lifeguard chair.

“They will be able to sit up a little bit higher instead of just a chair,” Kight said.

They discussed purchasing concrete tables and umbrellas to provide some shade.

They decided to put down $8,000 for pool supplies, which includes tubes, noodles, umbrellas, the portable lifeguard chair and tables.

They wanted to put working on the basketball courts as a high-priority item.

Kight brought up the idea of putting a surface on the concrete, and they would need to get new hoops. She added that they should get a chain net instead of nylon because it is more weather-resistant.

She brought up the idea of getting a lower hoop for little kids, but is worried people would try to hang off of it, bending the hoop.

Alderman Ward 3 Joyce Hartzell said that they had applied for a grant, but they don’t know how much it will cover yet.

“It’s a matching grant, so we have to spend so much money, and then they give us that money,” Hartzell said.

Just in case, the board decided to set aside $70,000 in their budget to put towards the basketball courts.

President Karen Groom suggested adding trees to the budget for the Tangle Creek Park.

“I thought it was a good idea to maybe, like, get some more trees out there,” Groom said. “I think it would just, like, really enhance it, make it look pretty.”

Vice President Faye Howard suggested memory trees, people being able to donate to plant a tree in someone’s honor.

Grounds Supervisor Jerry Montgomery said that it was a great idea, but it puts the city in a bad position of potentially having to replace memorial trees that die. 

They decided to put $5,000 toward trees and landscaping at Tangle Creek Park.

Two pavilions were added to the budget.

They put $60,000 in the budget for the first pavilion, which is supposed to be 30 by 100 feet with a standard four-inch thickness.

Funds should also cover a barbecue pit at each end, as well as tables.

Karina Rice made a suggestion on the tables.

“Can they match like Patti (Jo’s) Playground tables?” Rice asked.

They are metal tables, which Rice argued are less likely to be vandalized and are easier to clean.

The second pavilion is a 20 by 15 foot pavilion and will be built by the pickleball courts with an estimated cost of $15,000 in total.

A total of $7,500 was allocated in the budget for the soccer field bathrooms at Hood Park when Montgomery mentioned there have been complaints that people can see inside when walking past. To repair the beer garden sidewalk in Hood Park, they added $5,000 to the budget.

In total, they turned in a $170,500 budget, which was due on March 31 to Comptroller Jennifer Basham.