NEW ULM — German Park will receive an upgrade to its playground.

On Tuesday, the Park and Recreation Commission recommended the German Park playground equipment be replaced with Miracle Recreation equipment provided by Webber Recreation.

The City Council previously authorized this expenditure through budgeting. It is budgeted at $225,000 using funds from 2016 and 2017.

Park and Rec Director Tom Schmitz said this was the last replacement project needed for older and non-compliant playgrounds. This project will use the pour-in-place rubber surfacing similar to Hermann Heights Park.

Later the commission moved to convert the two tennis courts at Lincoln Park into six pickle ball courts.

Pickle ball is growing in popularity in New Ulm. Schmitz said an active group of pickle ball players at the Recreation Center play the game every Monday and Friday. With the creation of new tennis courts at the new High School, the creation of dedicated pickle ball complex at Lincoln Park was deemed appropriate. The New Ulm Ulm Tennis Association endorsed the proposal.

The game is a miniature variation of tennis played with a wiffle ball and ping-pong paddle. The courts are smaller than a tennis court.

At this time the department has budgeted to re-surface all the tennis courts at Washington and Lincoln Parks. Completing the project during the re-surfacing is expected to minimize additional costs.

In other news, the 2018 fee schedule was reviewed. The department’s philosophy is to keep programs affordable while adjusting for inflation. No official numbers were given to the commission. Hard numbers will be presented during next month’s meeting based on commission input.

At this time an estimated 1-3 percent increase is expected to keep up with inflation, with a similar increase to rental spaces.

Assistant Parks Director Cheryl Kormann said the department receives few comments on fee increases. Kormann said the one area of complaint is the city resident fee versus the non-resident fee.

She explained people living in the city limits pay city taxes which subsidize the facilities and programs. Those in the rural areas pay township taxes that do not subsidize facilities or programs.

The Park and Recreation budget was also reviewed. No formal decision was made during this meeting.

Typically the department has $500,000 to spend annually for repair and replacement projects. Schmitz presented 19 items for consideration.

Schmitz said he favored including the elimination of the Hermann Heights retaining wall into the budget.

Commission member David Christian said there will likely be a push for improvements at Riverside Park. A Riverside Park committee was formed following last November’s visioning conference. Christian expected additional recommendations from the committee to come before Park and Rec.

Chair Toby Freier said there are still underserved areas of New Ulm in need of park improvements, including south Goosetown. He favored a more comprehensive method of serving all of New Ulm rather than focusing on a single location. Freier also endorsed the creation of a splash pad. He said this was a lower-cost alternative to building an outdoor pool.

Both the fee schedule and 2018 budget will come back for further discussion and final approval at a future meeting.