Master plans are made for city parks

Published 8:31 am Thursday, March 29, 2012

For the first time in four decades, Gardendale has a master plan for city parks, with provisions for meeting the growing demand for additional softball, baseball and soccer fields, as well as indoor sports.

The plan was unveiled at the Parks and Recreation Board meeting on March 5, and was put together by the consulting firm of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon. It covers proposed changes and expansions to the Clemons Soccer Complex, the William Noble Athletic Complex and Luman Harris Park, as well as the development of a new site at Cluster Springs, adjacent to Interstate 65.

The new plan also proposes an expansion to the Gardendale Civic Center, with the addition of a new building to the rear of the current one.

It’s an ambitious plan, according to Parks and Recreation Director Stan Hogeland.

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“We haven’t had a plan like this done since the 1970s,” Hogeland said. “With this plan done, it gives us a road map for the future for when the economy gets better and we’re able to do some of these things, we know what we can do.”

The plan took about six months to prepare, with a lot of input from stakeholders such as youth sports leagues.

The project at the top of the list — one Hogeland has been working on for some time — is the expansion of the Clemons complex with softball and baseball diamonds, an additional soccer field, hiking trails and even a small lot for camping in recreational vehicles.

“We hope to turn it into a total sports complex. We want to make that park a destination — an economic impact,” Hogeland said.

A large part of that concept would involve tournaments, which continue to grow despite the recession. Local youth leagues would use the parks during the week, with tournaments taking over on weekends.

“We have people contacting us all the time, at least weekly, trying to get our parks for travel-ball tournaments,” Hogeland said. “Lots of cities only cater to their residents, and that’s the way we’ve been because we haven’t had enough parks.”

Such tournaments bring in large crowds and tourism revenues for the hospitality industry. Vestavia Hills’ Liberty Park is one example, as is Heritage Park in Cullman. A mega-complex in Southaven, Mississippi “is what I call Little League heaven,” Hogeland said. “Travel ball isn’t going away; it’s just getting bigger despite the economy. It’s amazing what some of these folks pay to play.”

An expansion at Luman Harris Park would involve the purchase of a 37-acre parcel immediately south of the current park. That parcel has been tied up in an estate for decades, but recently became available. The Gardendale City Council authorized Mayor Othell Phillips to negotiate for its purchase, but there’s one possible roadblock — the parcel is located in the Fultondale city limits, and would have to be de-annexed by that city to be used for the park.

“If we are able to get the land, we would be very sensitive to the adjoining property owners,” Hogeland said. “Most of those neighbors live in Fultondale; some of them live in Gardendale. We would maintain buffers between them and the park, and try to be good neighbors.”

Luman Harris would add two additional softball fields behind two already in place, plus two 100-yard competition football fields and one practice field. More parking would be added to alleviate a longstanding parking problem at the park, Hogeland said.

If Luman Harris were to expand, the current football field at Noble Park — which measures 80 yards from goal line to goal and is also used by Tabernacle Christian School’s eight-man varsity team — would likely be relocated to Harris, and baseball fields put where the football field is now. In addition, an indoor facility for basketball and volleyball would be built next to the park office.

The plan also considers uses for the Cluster Springs property, located within sight of I-65 south of Fieldstown Road. The city bought the 78-acre tract from U.S. Pipe in the late 1980s, and it includes a small lake. “It’s probably the prettiest site the city owns, but the only way to get there is on Cluster Springs Road, and it’s not easy,” Hogeland said.

The master plan shows six more softball/baseball fields, two soccer fields, a disc golf course and possibly more RV parking. However, that plan is by no means etched in stone, and city officials foresee a land swap with possible developers, who would build better access to the site and put in restaurants, hotels and such along the way. “The city needs to have some flexibility with that property,” Hogeland said.

Clemons was originally slated to get first priority, but the property availability at Luman Harris may move that around a bit. But Hogeland emphasizes that there’s no funding in place for any of these projects yet, except for the property purchase already authorized by the city council.

Once economic conditions improve, bond issues would likely be floated to pay for the projects, with revenues from facility rentals used to pay them off, Hogeland said. But businesses will also have to be a part of the plan to serve those who come in from out of town. “Otherwise you’ll have people using the parks, then going and eating elsewhere, which wouldn’t make sense if you’re trying to sell this as an economic-development project.”