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With many sections of the country starting to open back up from the pandemic, Nederland Parks and Recreation provides several opportunities for residents to get active.

Nederland City Manager Chris Duque said the city council recently removed previous COVID restrictions.

“We are working on getting the Rec Center fully staffed again and we are making good progress,” he said. “We have basketball going. (Nederland High School Basketball Coach) Brian English has a basketball league running this summer. They will have team games, but people can also just come in and play.”

The recreation center also has a racquetball court and pool table.

“The pool reopened and the playgrounds reopened,” Duque said. “The walking trails have been open the whole time. While everything was locked down in COVID, we installed some new exercise stations along the walking trail so people can use them while they are on their walks. We put a lot of money into putting new LED lights so people can feel safe out there in the evening or at night.”

Duque noticed participation picked up in the public facilities and parks.

“We are ready for people to be back out there,” he said. “People are looking for more things to do. We noticed that the parks are starting to pick up. We know we have some repairs scheduled for this month at some of the playgrounds.”

The city manager said the repairs are from normal wear and tear.

“There was probably some people who shouldn’t have been using the equipment based on their age,” he said. “What are you going to do? We have that scheduled for this month. This weather, of course, has not been cooperating. We will go back to sunshine. Hopefully, it will clear up soon and people will get back out and enjoy things.”

Mayor Don Albanese said he believes people are ready to back in the swing of things.

“We are moving fast but are still being cautious,” he said. “In our public facilities, we are going to try to sanitize as much as possible and be careful as much as we can.”

The recreation center is open from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday.