Progress on the preliminary plans for the improvements to Crossville's Garrison Park has been made and Tammy French, Crossville Parks and Recreation Department Director said that parts of the project will start going out to bid in about 45 days.
In addition to a large playground and splash pad, the existing basketball court will be resurfaced, sidewalks constructed and a multi-purpose building will be built. The building will house the pumps for the splash pad, 4 family restrooms and at the front will be a covered picnic pavilion.
Close up of plans for Phase 1 of Garrison Park
In the plan above you can see that there will be a large green space between the playground on the left and the splash pad on the right for play and frisbees and catch.
French said that the splash pad would be 53 feet wide and 78 feet long with a variety of water structures. A toddler area will be in one end and items for larger kids and even adults would be part of the installation. The splash pad feature will use recirculating water that is filtered and treated.
The playground is designed to be all-inclusive and will measure 60 feet wide and 100 feet long. It will include swings and a play structure with a variety of activities.
Plan showing the full park
In addition to oversight by Lose and Associates Engineers and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the project will be managed by a general contractor. The playground and splash pad are expected to be bid separately to firms that specialize in those installations. Work is expected to continue on the project much of this year.
Bleachers used for Baseball and early County Fair Events
to be replaced by new park attractions.
Crossville city crews have been working this week to begin the process of recreating Garrison Park using state grant funds to improve the centrally located park.
The removal of the 60 year old bleachers has been controversial as some wanted to see the structure saved but because work to improve the bleachers would require upgrades to ADA standards, the city council decided to remove them.
Plans for the park include a picnic area, playground, walking trail, basketball courts and a public restroom facility. The cost of the park redevelopment totals approximately $1 million with the state grant covering half the cost or $500,000.
Final design plans for the park are currently being prepared and bids on the project are expected to go out in early Spring 2018. Plans are that the baseball field A will be retained at the park. Original plans called for a multi-purpose field as phase 2 of the park redevelopment.
Crossville city council agreed to move
forward with the planned redevelopment of Garrison Park while the
city plans to keep the perimeter fence around the park and the so
called Field “A” intact.
The city received a $500,000 grant
toward the project to remove the late 1940's grandstand, put in a
playground, a splash pad, a new basketball court and a rest room.
The city is to match the state funds for the total cost of $1 million
for phase one of the project. It is unclear if or when additional
work might be done on the park.
Initial design plan for Garrison Park improvements
The action on the June agenda was a
budget amendment for the current fiscal year to move forward with
contracts for design and grant administration. Council members Danny
Wyatt and Pamala Harris both expressed concern about the need to
retain the fence around the park and the larger ball field at the
park.
L-R: City manager Geg Wood, council members J.H. Graham
and Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry and council members
Pamala Harris and Scot Shanks.
The item was pulled out of the consent
agenda for separate action and discussion by councilman J. H. Graham
and councilman Danny Wyatt addressed his concerns saying, “I'm all
about building this park over there but I want it done correctly.”
Wyatt mentioned the fence around the park and said it would be very
expensive to replace.
Entrance to Garrison Park
The other item Wyatt sought
clarification on is the ability to leave Field A since it is part of
the second phase of the project that is not currently funded or under
consideration. Wyatt also questioned why if the grandstand was part
of Field A was it part of this project.
Mayor James Mayberry responded, “The
bleachers were one of the biggest health and safety issues with the
whole deal and why it was a priority.”
Councilwoman Pamala Harris said her
biggest concern was if there was a guarantee that the city could
conserve Field A and conserve the fence. “I'm just uncomfortable
unless I know these things can be saved,” added Harris.
Mayor Mayberry said that he had a
verbal assurance that the state would use common sense about the
safety provided by the perfectly good fence and there should be no
reason to remove it. Mayberry added that he had been to the
Tennessee Municipal League meeting and found out that park designers
like to have parks feel more open without fences but that safety is a
concern.
Mayberry said that with the removal of
the grandstand a backstop fence would be required as well.
Discussion of a possible big tournament
in the Fall came up and it was estimated that no work on the field
would start before the first of 2018 and the grant funds must be used
within 2 years.
Video of council discussion on Garrison Park
With one final reading still to go, the
city will request an answer in writing by a special called meeting on
June 29th when the final reading is expected to take place along with
the final reading of the 2017-18 budget.
With that, Mr. Wyatt made the motion to
approve contingent on getting an answer by the third reading and was
supported by Mr. Graham and the motion passed unanimously.
The longtime park has been the location
of a baseball field since the 1920's according to property records
and at one time was the location where the Cumberland County Fair was
held.
“I don't know why we wait til the
very end on projects and decide to not do them,” commented
Crossville Mayor James Mayberry during a discussion of the next steps
on the redevelopment of Garrison Park.
“We've already executed the
contract,” pointed out Mayberry after councilman Danny Wyatt sought
to delay the project with a motion for the city attorney to review
the contract and report back to the council at their next meeting.
Councilman J. H. Graham seconded Wyatt's motiuon for the purposes of
discussion.
Council discussing Garrison Park. L-R J.H. Graham,
Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry and Scot Shanks
City manager Greg Wood advised the
council that the things in the grant would have to be done but there
was some flexibility on matters of sidewalks and fencing.
Mayberry stated, “I've got it on
pretty good authority they will use common sense in our disucssion
request on the fence” and the city has sent a letter in reference
to that.
Wyatt said his questions came up
“because we wasn't told all this on the front end.” Mayberry
said that the city could keep Field A at Garrison Park because the
planned “multi-use field” is part of phase 2 of the plan and
currently the funding and plans were only for Phase 1.
The motion failed in a tie vote with
Wyatt and Graham voting in favor and Mayberry and councilman Scot
Shanks opposed.
Council discussion on Garrison Park and
Centennial splash pad.
Mayor Mayberry moved that the city
approve the contracts with Community Development Partners, the grant
administrator and Lose and Associates, the engineer firm to design
the work. Mayberry's motion also included first reading of a
necessary budget amendment. Mr. Shanks gave a second for the motion.
With no further discussion, the vote
included yes votes from Mayberry and Shanks. Wyatt voted no and
Graham abstained. With councilwoman Pamala Harris not yet at the
meeting and the abstention counted with the yes votes, the motion was
approved.
Council moved then moved to discussion
of the addition of a splash pad at Centennial Park to match the one
planned for Garrison. Mr. Wyatt moved that the city put out a
request for proposals for the design and construction of a splash
pad.
Discussion revealed that the council
had previously requested Hart Freeland Roberts to prepare a design
for such an installation but no contact was ever brought back to the
the city. Manager Wood has recommended that the previous action be
rescinded and a new request be circulated. Mr Wyatt amended his
motion to rescind the previous action.
Manager Wood suggested the city might
be able to have to the two splash pads done together and be able to
save some money on the work.
Wyatt's motion passed unanimously with
yes votes from all four council memebers present. Ms. Harris arrived
at the meeting following these actions.
Crossville city council meets in a
called meeting followed by a work session on Thursday starting at 5
PM in Crossville city hall.
The called meeting will include
discussions and possible action on at least two items deferred from
the regular council meeting last week. One topic is moving forward
with the plans to redevelop Garrison Park on Fourth Street and the
other is another round of discussion on downtown sidewalks, a topic
that has been around since plans were first put forth for downtown
improvements 14 years ago.
Garrison Park entrance
The council put off action to move
forward and approve contracts for grant administration and
engineering for the Garrison Park project until they got a response
from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF) about keeping the
fence around the park and keeping the larger baseball filed known as
Field A. Plans remain to remove the old grandstand structure built
around 1949 as it is in poor condition and not ADA accessible.
The redevelopment plan for the park
includes a splash pad, playground, new restrooms, a walking trail,
and redoing the basketball court. The city was awarded a 50/50 match
grant of $500,000 for the project.
Example of Splash pad in Cookeville's Dogwood Park
A discussion is also planned on a
splash pad proposed for Centennial Park. The project was discussed
last year and a motion to have the then interim city manager
negotiate a contract with engineers on such a project. No contract
was ever brought back before council and current city manager Greg
Wood is recommending the council seek a design/build contract on such
a project.
Council will hear information about the
city manager and engineers recent meeting with TDOT officials on the
sidewalk and Main Street paving project. TDOT will correct some of
the downtown sidewalk corners to bring them up to ADA standards and
current plans are for the city to do the rest. At this point the
city hopes to know which corners TDOT will fix.
Deteriorated sidewalks in downtown Crossville
Councilman Scot Shanks has proposed the
sidewalks be repaired by bidding the project out, a scenario that is
estimated to be a 9 month process versus having city employees do the
work, a process that could take 3 years.
Additional items on Thursday's agenda
include approving the replacement of the traffic light signal at
Lantana Road and Main Street. The project will be paid for 100
percent by funds from Surface Transportation grant funds with no
local match required.
And one of the air conditioning units
at the Crossville airport has failed and the city is taking bids for
its replacement. That action will also come before the council and budgeted funds are available.
Crossville Memorial Airport Terminal Building
Following the called meeting, the
council will meet in work session to continue work on the 2017-18
budget.
Crossville Mayor James Mayberry announced that the city has received a $500,000 grant for the re-development of the old Garrison Park of Fourth Street through the Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF).
The funds have been awarded by Governor Bill Haslam and Department of Environment and Conservation commissioner Bob Martineau as part of a $16 millions in funds for use by communities for recreation improvements.
The entrance to Garrison Park and at left the old grandstands built over 50 years ago.
The grant requires a match of an additional $500,000 of local funds and will fund the first phase of a plan to provide a splash pad, playground, restrooms, renovation of the basketball court, walkways along with the removal of the existing outdated grandstand and two baseball fields. Plans are underway to incorporate features to recognize the history of the park that was the original location of the annual county fair.
In addition, the Crossville Parks and Recreation department has been working with the ball leagues using the existing fields and they will be accommodated at Centennial Park in future years.
Phase two of the plan will include development of a multipurpose field and open plan area. The plan for Garrison Park were part of the recreation mater plan developed by the city several years ago and the need for additional recreational facilities was mentioned in the visioning meetings held around the community. Also, council has discussed the need for such a facility to be near the center of Crossville for easier access by low income families.
Garrison Park concept drawing from Recreation Master Plan
