No action taken on grant for city park

The city council took no action Tuesday night regarding its plans to use a state grant for Meadowbrook Park improvements, but even if the plan should be approved no work will be done until work is completed at two existing parks.

B.J. Owen, director of Special Services, presented estimated costs for moving the practice fields park plan from land the city owns next to Synergy Park to Meadowbrook Park on Houston Street.

The city received a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department grant worth $50,000 that must be matched with cash or inkind services. Owen projected a total cost for Meadowbrook, including restrooms and paved parking, to be $225,748.

After a lengthy discussion, councilmen Harvey McClen- don and Janice Hancock seemed to warm to the idea as long as work will first be completed at Martin Luther King Jr. and Pentecost parks.

Randy Renshaw said he thought the Meadowbrook Park additions would be an asset to the city and to the area. Ronnie Spradlin was absent from the meeting.

"I'm ready to go. We have talked about this for months," Renshaw said.

"No we haven't," McClendon countered. "Not in this spot."

The original park grant was for "The Practice Fields at Synergy Park," but problems arose with the site — it was a former city landfill and no digging would be allowed and its location was next to the industrial park and its heavy commercial traffic.

A couple of weeks ago, Jeff Howell, city manager, said he had spoken with TP&WD officials and they agreed the site could be altered if all of the original components of the grant were included in the move.

Owen showed the council an aerial photo of the property with an overlay outlining three new multi-use practice fields for football, soccer and baseball, a pavilion with tables and a grill, washer pit and nature trail with fitness areas, all amenities included in the grant proposal.

He also proposed two volleyball playing areas, a ninehole Frisbee golf course, six sets of 40-person bleachers, portable backstops, "fall protection" for playground equipment and "screening" around the restrooms. The park has two existing playgrounds and a basketball court, and soccer teams have long practiced there.

The greatest single expense is the restrooms, estimated to cost $88,000. The restrooms would be prefabricated of concrete and are virtually indestructible, Owen has said. A similar facility was installed at MLK Jr. Park.

The restrooms would have to be placed on the highest spot in the park, off Horseshoe Drive, because the park lies in the Turkey Creek flood plain.

The second greatest expense is paved parking, estimated at $26,000.

Since Owen took over park maintenance a few months ago, crews have been hard at work making improvements to MLK and Pentecost, and they have also begun clearing the underbrush at Meadowbrook in a 9-acre tract along Willow Springs Road, though there are no immediate plans for that portion of the park.

Owen practically begged the council Tuesday night not to let the state's $50,000 grant money "get away from us." He suggested the council consider using some of its reserve money from the Kilgore Economic Development Corporation 4A(s) funds.

KEDC sets aside $300,000 each year for "quality of life" projects for the city. By Oct. 1, the city will have more than $900,000 in the account.

McClendon said he would be in favor of the Meadowbrook plan, "but not at the expense of the other two parks." He has previously stated he would like to use the KEDC funds for "something big," such as a ball park.

Owen said work at MLK and Pentecost would be done by January and April, respectively.

After the meeting he said most of the TP&WD requirements at Meadowbrook could be in place within two to three months, with the rest of the plan implemented over time.

"But we must let Texas Parks & Wildlife know we plan to use the money around August, because that is when they look around to see who hasn't used their money," Owen said.

If accepted, the TP&WD grant work must be completed by July 2011.

If the city doesn't use the state grant, Owen said he feared Kilgore would "go to the bottom of the list" should it apply for future grants.

The council is talking about having a special workshop in the near future just to discuss parks.