Elmer City meets on park planning

Elmer City residents met recently to hear about planning efforts for the town's parks and about early results of an ongoing survey on park preferences in the town.

City planner Kurt Danison of Highland Associates said the room full of people Jan. 24 was a better turnout than he usually sees for planning meetings in much larger towns, and that interest is what's needed.

He said the town so far had 52 people who had responded to a survey on their park preferences, 29 in one day. Nearly 71 percent of them had classified "building new parks and facilities as "Important," Very Important," or "Essential."

"Maintaining and improving existing trails and facilities" fit those priorities for 96 percent.

High on the list of requested amenties were benches, which nearly 57 percent of people said were needed to make Elmer City's trail system better. More than 47 percent said they wanted paved walking trails.

Danison noted an overwhelming response indicating most people are not satisfied with the town's outdoor recreation features. Under a third had visited a city park in the last year, although 96 percent said they'd been on the federal government's Downriver Trail.

"Not every town in this state has access to a water body like that and a trail that goes along it," he said. He speculated that trail, which belongs to the Bureau of Reclamation, may present opportunities for enhancement.

The process will produce an overall plan for the city that can be used to help get grants, Danison said. Grants that are available are often not easy for smaller towns to get because the granting agencies require a lot of information and planning before they'll award a grant, which is money that doesn't have to be paid back.

A big funder is the state's Recreation and Conservation Office, but competition for the money is stiff, Danison said, and they can require "skin in the game," with the entity receiving the funds to put in more from another source.

Danison was there in person, and an employee of his and two other associates, including the city's engineer from Gray and Osborne, all joined via Zoom on a screen at the front of the room.

The survey should end this month and more public discussions will be coming, he said. He expects the whole process to be done this spring, possibly in June.

Mayor Jesse Tillman noted that even little improvements in the parks seem to be greatly appreciated. He recalled adding new hoops to the basketball court in the park across the street from city hall, then noting the play they got from local kids.

And that's an amenity Danison pointed to as badly needing a new surface.