Meetings, meetings, meetings

I have to attend the goal setting meeting tonight.  I was told I didn't have to but I have a feeling I should.  I think there will be pizza.

Each department head, the city council members and the city administrator filled out a survey asking what are your needs (a big, fat raise and a company truck!), what direction do you think the city is heading, your thoughts on other departments (that's dangerous) and how they're doing, etc.  I can tell you no one has any idea what we have to do.  They don't know what the parks needs are anymore than I know what their needs consist of for this year.  I do think we need a new skid loader but that's not my department.

We, myself and the park board, and I am going to speak for them here, we seem to be pushed to the back burner.  We worked with fundraising, rodeos, contests, dances, asking for donations, filling out grants for four years before we finally were able to buy new playground equipment.  I made a statement at one meeting (my filter didn't work that day) that if the police department wanted a robotic dog that shot gernades out its' ass, they'd get one.  Let me point out I have nothing against the other departments.  At that moment the city administrator walked up behind me as the last of those words were leaving my lips.  He started laughing.  Dena, our city council member liasion at the time, was laughing, the park board was laughing.  So I kept it up by saying that what we want doesn't matter.  We suck hind tit.  That's how we feel.

That little statement I made was repeated by Dena at the city council meeting.  I had to repeat it at the department head meeting and the police chief would like to see a robotic dog that shot grenades out its' ass.  That would be cool actually.

Our "want" this year, before the first baseball is cracked off of a bat, is new outfield fencing for one of the ball diamonds.  The fencing that is there now, and why they did this is anyone's guess, is maybe two and a half feet tall.  Any third grader can plant their butt on it, and they do, and the rail and chain link gets squashed.  Not pleasing to look at.  It needs to be 4-5 feet tall.  We have new backstops now it's time for the outfield.  Due to a ordering miscalculation for another field, red cap guards that go along the top of the fence were donated.  Thank you Monti Sports!

New backstops, new paint on the bleachers and in the dugouts, painted foul line poles, handicap accessible ramps to the bathrooms, and signs that state there is no soft tossing into the fencing.  We're trying to straighten things up, make them look better but it takes time.  Please don't let your children climb the backstops.  I didn't have that put on the signs.  Didn't think I needed to add that. 

I hope there's pizza.