The Hillsdale City Council voted on Monday night to renovate two parks near Baw Beese Lake, add new stop signs, and purchase a new street sweeper.

 The new machine, worth $343,000, will be able to maintain the highways and the city’s streets systems while also helping during fall leaf collection.  

The city council also approved an order to add new stop signs that will replace the yield signs at the intersection of North Manning and River Streets. The new stop signs will halt east and westbound traffic on River Street. 

Hillsdale Chief of Police Scott Hephner said the large number of vehicles parked on North Manning Street causes a visual obstruction on River Street, leading to the sign change.

“We have had accidents at this intersection, nothing serious at least,” Hephner said. “So this seems very viable since they were yield signs.”

The council approved the replacement of the two yield signs with stop signs unanimously. 

The council also approved a plan to renovate the playground equipment at Waterworks and Owen Memorial Parks near Baw Beese Lake.

The renovation will remove and replace outdated, unsafe pieces of playground equipment in the two parks, according to city documents. The new equipment will be up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and meet the needs of people with disabilities. 

The city will replace the ship, fish, and slide at Owen Memorial Park, the merry-go-round and swing set at Waterworks Park, and the rockets in both parks, according to city documents. 

Citing the historical value of the parks’ playground equipment, Mayor Adam Stockford said he was hesitant about implementing the park renovation. 

Stockford said the playground equipment originated in the 1960s amid the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. A manufacturer in Litchfield offered to donate the equipment to Hillsdale and feature it in their catalog they sent to other cities. 

“I’ve been very disappointed throughout the years that we’ve removed a lot of that equipment because I think that is as big a part of Hillsdale’s history,” Stockford said. “We have put such an emphasis on trying to safeguard our history, and I think that Waterworks and Owens are an important part of that.”

Stockford said he would be more inclined to support the restoration of the equipment, rather than its removal. 

Additionally, the plan seeks to create a new 18-hole disc golf course on undeveloped city property adjacent to Waterworks Park, city documents show. City funds, local businesses, and a disc golf league will fund the new golf course.

“Several business owners who have wanted this for several years have gone out, at their own expense, and hired a professional designer to design the golf course,” said Alan Beeker, the city’s zoning administrator.

Owen Memorial Park already has a heavily used nine-hole course, Beeker said. A professional disc golf league told the city that it would be willing to host professional tournaments in the park after constructing the new course.

Beeker said several pieces of the equipment could remain if proper, safe areas are created around them while removing some equipment. 

The city council voted 6-1 to approve the park renovation plan, with Stockford in opposition. 

Finally, Lance Lashaway resigned from the Tax Increment and Financing Authority, and the council filled the vacancy with Hillsdale Pub and Grub owner Kevin Conant.