CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Residents surrounding the proposed RichEllen Park were given the opportunity to sound off at a meeting held by the Montgomery County Office of Facilities Development and the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department
The meeting, held at Cumberland Heights Elementary School, was an open forum where residents were able to voice their opinion about what kind of park it should be and what types of equipment would be located there.
The land consists of approximately 50 acres, which was purchased in 2010 for the creation of a recreational facility and is located along Highway 149, 2.5 miles past the Hilltop Food Store.
County Mayor Carolyn Bowers opened the meeting by telling the assembled crowd that she had met with the engineers and architects for the park and assured the residents that they were in good hands.
Dean Thomas, Chad Polk and Andrew Johnson, architects and engineers for the park project, gave a power point presentation of the outlay of the proposed park, showing the accessibility to the park and the elevation, which reaches a peak of 100 ft. above the roadway.
When the floor was opened for questions, several people wanted to know how many ball fields could be placed on the property and if it could also contain a football/soccer field. Others wanted an area for playground equipment and some wanted trails for hiking.
According to the engineers, the first step in starting this project is deciding on what the residents wanted in their park, the value and what possible profitability could come from having such a park.
One suggestion was creating enough ball fields to hold regional baseball or softball tournaments, which would bring in outside revenue.
The general consensus was, the need for the park has been a long time coming and most people would be glad to have any type of recreational area in their community. Now it boils down to voting on what kind of park it will be.
Also in attendance were County Commissioners Dalton Harrison, whose district 6 encompasses the park area, and John Fuson from district 7, which is just over the Cumberland River from the proposed park.
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