Basin Park and its budget was the main topic at the Nov. 21 Parks and Recreation meeting.
Earlier this year, the City Advertising and Promotion Commission assisted Parks in paying for work by McClelland Engineering on a plan for restoration of the park. While Parks’ Executive Director Sam Dudley said there was no way Parks could pay the more than $1,000,000 to fulfill McClelland’s conceptual plans, they could begin working on smaller scale projects tied to it. Dudley had prepared a list to present to the CAPC to see if they’d assist since the CAPC uses Basin Park for events.
Dudley explained that work on the second level of Basin Park that provides access to the bandshell would cost an estimated $12,000. He said he wants to take out the boxwoods that sit along the edge of that level and install a railing to make the access safer, a matter previous Chairs have said needs attention. Dudley said he also wished to budget for expanding the stairs that lead from the second level to the bandshell saying that the current setup makes it difficult to transport equipment.
He said he would attempt to get funding for that as well as repainting the bandshell and repairing various benches in the park. Commissioners said that if Parks has leftover money from 2023, they should push toward these repairs.
Other Items
- Dudley told commissioners that Black Bass has a beaver wreaking havoc on trees at the lake. He explained that where the beaver was cutting trees down was requiring Parks to remove trees from trails on a weekly basis. Commissioners asked that he attempt to find a way to remove the beaver without killing it, including but not limited to asking other parks if they are seeking a beaver to help create a wetlands habitat.
- Commissioners agreed to a contract regarding the Big Foot statue at Lake Leatherwood. The statue was on loan from artist Steven Feilbach but left in the park because tourists loved it. The contract solidifies Parks making payments for the statue. With the exception needed statue repairs, none had been made.
- Commissioners said they want a more hierarchal structure for employees to have possible career paths within the department so they aren’t stuck in the same position for years. The hiccup of that is a lack of revenue, and commissioners discussed possible solutions.