Lima Parks & Recreation staff worked hard to keep the parks open during the COVID-19 crisis.
One of the few places that didn't shut down during the pandemic was parks. Lima Parks & Recreation Director Ric Stolly told us that his staff put in a lot of hours to ensure the parks were safe and that the people who enjoyed them were informed about the precautions that they should take. But though the parks were open, Stolly says their spring and summer programming suffered. They made the difficult decision not to open Schoonover Pool this year, and instead of children going to the parks for the summer playground program, they are holding a virtual summer playground program online with fun things the kids to do like exercise and art projects. The summer baseball and softball leagues will be able to meet, but the season will be abbreviated. Stolly credits his staff for working through all the issues to keep the parks open and give people the chance to get out of the house and enjoy the nearly 400 acres of green space encompassed by Lima's parks.