Martinsville Weighs Full-Time Parks Manager as Projects Advance

Martinsville City Council | September 23, 2026

Article Summary: Martinsville aldermen on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, were told the city needs a full-time employee to manage its parks following a retirement, with the group Martinsville on the Move raising the possibility of helping fund the position. No vote was taken on any parks item.

Parks and Recreation Key Points:

• The Parks Committee met with Martinsville on the Move members about parks management; since “Brenda” retired from taking care of the parks, Alderman Harley Craig reported, there is a need to hire a full-time person to manage them.
• Martinsville on the Move “could assist with funding for this position,” according to the minutes.
• The volleyball sand court awaits drier ground for leveling and netting; the walking trail around the park is next, probably starting in the spring; the splash pad is being painted and half the pickleball court has poles in for fencing.
• Playground equipment has not yet been inspected, and Alderman Wendy Isbell raised a need for better lighting at the Blue Park after dark.

MARTINSVILLE — Martinsville’s parks have been without a dedicated caretaker since a retirement, and the City Council on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, heard that the city may need to hire a full-time manager — with help on the funding from a local group.

Craig reported that the Parks Committee had met with members of Martinsville on the Move to discuss parks management. “Since Brenda retired from taking care of the parks there is a need to hire a Full-Time person to manage them,” the minutes record. “Martinsville on the Move could assist with funding for this position.”

The minutes give the retired caretaker’s first name only and do not state her former title or when she left. No salary range, job description, timetable or funding figure for a new position appears in the record, and no motion was made. The minutes do not describe what role Martinsville on the Move would play beyond the possibility of assisting with funding, or on what terms.

Several Projects Moving at Once

Mayor Robert Lovell used his comments to run through park work in progress. The volleyball sand court is “going in when it dries up more to level and then hang the net,” according to the minutes, and “the next project is the walking trail around the park, probably starting in the Spring.”

Lovell also reported that the splash pad is being painted and that half of the pickleball court has poles in place, ready for fencing to go up.

Neither the agenda nor the minutes attaches a cost, contractor or funding source to any of those projects, and none of them came before the council for a vote on Sept. 23.

Inspection and Lighting Questions Raised

Alderman Chris Perry asked whether the city had inspected the playground equipment. It had not, according to the minutes, which add that Isbell “did not see anything missing at the bottom.” The record does not say who would conduct an inspection or when one is planned.

Isbell raised two items of her own. She asked who is in charge of the Soap Box race and said she would like yard signs and more advertising; the answer recorded in the minutes is that “The City is but Martinsville on the Move is sponsoring it.”

She also told the council there is a need for better lighting at the Blue Park after dark. The current light is blocked by trees, the minutes state, and “getting a solar light or something behind the Post Office could help.” Lovell said he would look into options for adding a light or pole.

No cost estimate was discussed for any lighting option, and the matter was not placed on a future agenda in the record.

All of the parks discussion came in the mayor’s and aldermen’s comment sections at the end of the meeting, after the council’s numbered action items. None of it was a noticed agenda item, and no vote was taken on any of it.