The approach of spring has the Parks Department moving forward with plans for improvement, services, and pricing, as Director Sam Dudley reported at the March 19 meeting.
A part-time gardener has been put on the payroll, and new wooden benches in Basin Park will be installed likely by mid-April. The Daughters of the American Revolution paid for the park’s fire bell to be repainted, and the gazebo has had graffiti sanded and been repainted. The Harmon Park building has had the front painted, and half of its new flooring is finished. At Lake Leatherwood, Stacy’s Stone Work is repairing an area of the stone walkway for safety of guests.
A minor crisis occurred when a washing machine at the Lake Leatherwood campsite broke, so Parks has hired a laundry service to come out Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Dudley said he wants to build a new storage and work shed at Lake Leatherwood so things can be moved out of the historic bathhouse building that could then be used for other things. He proposed building across from the playground as it would be centrally located and could be a place to store a back-up washer and dryer so incidents like the recent breakdown wouldn’t cause as much trouble. Dudley got commission approval and plans for the building will be drawn up before the next meeting.
Dudley said that Parks is switching to a new reservation system called Fair Harbor because it is easier to tie into the Parks website. He looked into AirBnB, but found them “too hands on,” whereas with Fair Harbor there was more freedom and no need for a contract or switching fee.
Fair Harbor will get six percent if people book online and nothing if people call in to book a campsite. Fair Harbor will also allow people to book boats and also upsell, like offering people booking on the website to order a bundle of wood when they are booking a cabin or campsite.
There was also a discussion concerning discounts: military members receive a ten percent discount and Parks employees will get 50 percent off cabins and campsites, although they can only stay at one site for 14 days. Parks employees will also get a 25 percent discount on food and drinks and free boat rentals.
Work is underway to provide free WiFi at Lake Leatherwood. Although cabins don’t have TVs or computers, Parks will install WiFi access on the telephone pole near the visitor center and start with one terabyte through Starlink.
This will add over $5000 to the budget for infrastructure to pay for it. The money will cover the upfront costs for installation. Dudley said there would also be benefits as this would help with phones and Internet connections at the Parks office at Lake Leatherwood. Commissioners approved the addition to the budget and setting up the WiFi subscription.