Park improvements focus of Aldermen work session
The Starkville Board of Aldermen received an update at their Friday work session on the state of capital improvement projects for three of the city's parks.
Patriot's Park, J.L. King Park and Moncrief Park could all receive improvements based on designs presented to Aldermen if the Board approves them at a future meeting.
Small restroom buildings will be added to Patriot's Park and J.L. King Park as part of the ongoing capital improvements, but the renovations made to Moncrief Park might be much more extensive.
Architect Bob Luke of Meridian-based firm LPK Architects presented the plan to Aldermen and said he believed he and his firm could significantly improve the experience of Moncrief Park.
“We think we can really change the experience for the citizens and get us there substantially,” Luke said.
Regarding the state of the park, especially the building around the pool, Parks and Recreation Executive Director Gerry Logan said it had seen better days.
“When you pull up in the parking lot, it does not look very attractive,” Logan said.
Mayor Lynn Spruill echoed Logan's thoughts, noting the smell of the pool area had somehow not changed in decades.
“It is in dire need of replacement,” Spruill said. “When
I went there, I had a flashback to when I was seven years old and was swimming there.”
Luke said he had observed the park to be very busy every time he visited it and also felt the state of the park was not best serving those who visited it.
“It's old, it's tired,” Luke said. “She needs a lot of work.”
Because people enjoy the park so much, Luke said it needed to be a gem for the people of Starkville, referring to it as having the potential to be the “public country club.”
“This has so much potential to really be nice,” Luke said. “We want to really get this right. We think this is special.”
The improvements Luke presented would see new concrete around the pool poured, a new building with restrooms and changing rooms added to replace the current one, an area designed for sun tanners and a pavilion made with a focus on hosting outdoor parties.
All of the improvements would incorporate wood, Luke said, as it is more aesthetically pleasing. In an effort to be sustainable, Luke said the improvements would have solar
panels and exclusively be lit using LED lights.
Water fountains would also double as water bottle refilling stations, Luke said, as they are becoming more and more popular in an effort to reduce the usage of disposal plastic water bottles.
All of the new buildings will also be designed to allow them to be locked at the end of operating hours, Luke said, to prevent people from misusing the property for illegal activities.
“So at the end of the day, park people, or security or city police, will just clear it, close it off, so we don't have any security issues at night,” Luke said. “We think that's very important.”
To dispel rumors, Logan assured Aldermen the pool at Moncrief Park was functioning and would not require a large amount of funding during the renovation to improve functionality.
“The short answer is it's holding water pretty well, especially considering it's a 60-plus-year-old facility” Logan said.
None of the improvements would disrupt the pool's summer operation, Logan said.
“The pool functions,” Logan said. “We 100% plan to open for this summer. This does not change any plans for opening, closing, etc.”
With the improvements still not approved for bidding, no timetable or cost estimate was provided to Aldermen on Friday, though Luke did admit the changes to Moncrief Park would likely need to be completed next year.
Trying to complete the improvements before the end of May, Luke said, was “unrealistic.”
If the projects are approved by Aldermen, they will funded money collected by the 2% city tax.
“The 2% tax we've had for years, decades now, is for capital improvements,” Spruill said.
Overall, Spruill said she liked the idea of creating a new image for Moncrief Park, saying she wanted everything in Starkville to be “big and attractive.”
“Having a new identity for that [park] would be really nice,” Spruill said.
However, citing her own “lack of imagination,” Spruill said she was not notably excited about the renderings Luke presented as they did not provide enough details as to what the finished products would look like.
“When you're trying to provide a rendering for something, it's not going to come out looking like it's going to look when it's built,” Spruill said. “I would have liked to see a little more meat on the bones.”