Jeremiah said he was born and raised here and a graduate of Adrian Public Schools in 1990. Joined the marine corps and lived abroad for 12 years and lived in Texas for a brie time before returning to Adrian.
Got his Bachelors at Siena Heights and Masters at Adrian College. Jeremiah has 2 children. He has been with The City of Adrian since 2021.
As large as his department is, he said, he has only 10 employees! There are 18 parks (600 acres) in the Adrian system he said and, based on data from the state, he should really have 18-19 fulltime employees. But he credits everyone he does have with all of the work they do.
When he arrived in 2021, there was no official Parks Director. The City Engineer was actually doing this work. He came on board to overhaul the park system. Among improvements are: a new splash pad and basketball court at Parish Park and pickleball courts at Heritage Park thanks to the efforts by former Adrian Mayor and club member, Greg D!
Other areas of attention have been Trestle Park where the amphitheater was just overhauled, he said. Improvements have been made to various bathrooms which. Jeremiah said, have always been subject to vandalism. Some 30 security cameras were installed some months ago throughout the park system to improve safety. Jeremiah said that he can now access real time activity so he call in instances he notices himself when they occur.
Back in 2022, he said, a feasibility study was conducted and a recommendation was made relative to a $15M Pool Project. The City Commission requested Jeremiah look into what was actually needed at Bohn Pool which is open about 82 days every summer. He came up with a plan that used as "phased' approach and consequently the Commission adopted his 5-year plan. Phase 1 saw a new Boiler & Pump installed. Phase 2 will begin this year on August 18 as the pool house will be renovated.
A new liner (current one is 10 years past its life expectancy) is being installed this week. A new gutter system is also required. Th current concrete deck is not level in some places. All of this will be around $1M-$1.7M which, he said, is far lest costly than the original $15M proposal which should extend the life by about 20 years.
Jeremiah then spoke about the City's Fee Estate Trust Fund thanks to the generosity of Harriet Kimball Fee many years ago which is now at $23.5M and to be used for "park beautification" according to her specific wishes. As a result of court rulings, the money can also be used for general operations and to purchase equipment. This year, Jeremiah said, the amount from the estate on July1 is expected to be just over $1M! Capital projects will get $100,000 and the rest will be used for day-to-day operations he said.
Thanks for a great presentation, Jeremiah, and continued success at the City!
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