By Steven Snow, P&R vice chair
As most of the planet, the recent meeting of the Lakeland Parks and Recreation/Natural Resources Board took place under the cloud and in the shadow of the coronavirus crisis. Keeping with the national, state and municipal shelter in place recommendations, the meeting Wednesday (4.22.20), coincidentally Earth Day, was conducted via an online video and tele-conferencing website.
Link to audio of meeting: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=261549734978264
Link to agenda: https://tn-lakeland.civicplus.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/926
Budget
City Manager Shane Horn offered an overview of the of the proposed 2020-2021 budget. While he reinforced the increasing prominence of parks and recreation programs in Lakeland’s future, he emphasized that the budget was preliminary and subject to amendments due to the economic impact of the present pandemic. At Commissioner Michele Dial’s invitation, Finance and HR Director Michael Walker was invited to give the board members a better perspective on the budget with a more detailed tour of the items, concentrating on areas of change from the ending fiscal year. He highlighted the loss of revenue from the cancellation of spring sports programs and the hoped-for improvement by this fall or early 2021. Increases in expenditures include several upgrades for the Senior Center at IH Park, including the alarm system, fire protection and air-conditioning.
Playground equipment
Newly appointed Parks and Rec Director Pat O’Mara presented the revised plan for new playground equipment at Zadie E. Kuehl Memorial Park. The new plans incorporated several recommendations from the board to lighten the colors, lower the structure silhouette and eliminate some rope features to enhance safety.
Dog Park
Plans for the eagerly awaited Dog Park are still on track, but have experienced weather and construction delays. The next step is finalizing the asphalt driveway and parking lot design. Once that is completed and approved by the Board of Commissioners, bids will be submitted and the Lakeland Dog “Bark” will be on the road to becoming a reality.
Athletic Complex
After three years of intense planning and preparation, the proposed athletic fields on Memphis-Arlington Road have been sidetracked by a Municipal Planning/Design Review Commission (MPC/DRC) rejection based on traffic concerns. The latest plans, which were scaled down due to environmental issues, consisted of a baseball diamond, a multi-use football/soccer field, and a practice field which would provide much needed space for the City’s growing sports programs. There is a half a million dollar state grant in jeopardy if this project is not completed and hope is that a reasonable solution can be found to put it back on track.
The Athletic Park and fields are planned for 9661 Memphis Arlington Road, between Canada Road and Seed Tick Road. The land was purchased by the City in 2004.
The City of Lakeland applied for and was awarded a $500,000 Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF) Grant in 2018 through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for Phase 1 of the Lakeland Athletic Complex and Recreation Park. The Master Plan and Phase 1 concept plan were approved by the MPC/DRC on March 21, 2019. The latest Site Plan had been reviewed by the Parks Board with recommendation to the MPC/DRC for approval.
During an MPC/DRC meeting April 16th, a final site plan failed on a vote of 5 against, 2 in favor.
Concerns voiced during the MPC/DRC meeting included the Park being in a dam breach area, the project felt “rushed” and a tenured Lakeland resident had concerns about traffic and placement of the eastern entrance to the Complex.
Emily Harrell, city engineer, asked at the conclusion of the vote what specific things should be considered before re-submitting the plan. Susan Mitchell, MPC/DRC chair, said there should be consideration of being good neighbors to long term residents. She said someone’s idyllic home should not turn into a traffic jam. “That’s the biggest concern.”
In-house sports
A subject of sports fields led to a discussion on the feasibility of developing and operating our own in-house sports and recreation programs and leagues versus contracting with coaches for a percentage of the revenue. The general consensus was that while in-house is the optimal scenario, it would require additional staffing and resources that are currently not available. After some criticism of the current soccer program, several parents of players responded by phone and text-chat that they felt the program was achieving success despite inadequate facilities.
Tree saplings give-away
If Lakeland looks a little greener this summer, it may be because over 50 American redbud, common button bush, tulip, and nuttall oak saplings were recently “rehomed” in an Arbor Day tree giveaway. If you would like one of the few remaining trees, contact City Hall 867-2717
