Published: November 18, 2008 07:36 am      

Residents have chance to give input on parks

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Included with their next water bill, Jacksonville residents will receive a short survey city officials hopeswill assist in the formation of a new parks, recreation and open space master plan.

The Jacksonville City Council contracted with Mark Spencer of MHS Planning & Design this summer to develop a comprehensive plan for the city. The parks and recreation survey form is the community’s chance to have input in the creation of that plan.

“We would like people to get them back to us as quickly as possible, either by bringing them to city hall or mailing them to us. Mark is going to use the responses as a measure of what direction the community wants to go in regarding the city’s park lands,” said Mayor Robert Haberle. “Do the people think we need to improve facilities at the park spaces we already have? Or do we need to look at acquiring new park spaces? Things like that.”

The surveys ask respondents to rate the city’s current facilities, to suggest needed additions and to identify their park preferences.

Haberle said the plan will touch on each of Jacksonville’s many parks, but will focus especially on the baseball/softball/soccer complex and the amphitheater at Love’s Lookout.

“The idea for a new parks master plan was born partially through Jacksonville 20/20. We talked about ways to increase the city’s environmental appeal, and we realized we were missing some economic development dollars as a city by not being able to bring in youth sporting events,” he said. “Youth sports are a big deal in Texas, and a big thing to the parents of the children who participate. If we can get our facilities to the point where we can bid out for state sports tournaments, we will get to realize a lot of economic impact from those events.”

The mayor said such improvements would boost tourism, improve the economy and increase hotel-motel occupancy tax money.

In addition to the surveys, Spencer will be conducting interviews with the city staff, gathering aerial photographs and assisting Jacksonville in its bid for a $500,000 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant — a grant which would pay for the planned renovation of the baseball complex.

The city has assembled a seven-member committee to assist Spencer in his efforts to construct the plan. Billy Redd, Stacy Hunter, Jeff Hugghins, Gene Brumbelow, Marlene Jowell, Mary Decker and Will Cole were selected by the City Council to act in this capacity

A new master plan would also outline the development of Phase IV of Nichols Green park. The document will include plans for future land acquisition, proposed facility improvements broken down into phases, cost projections for any proposed improvements and a loose timeline for implementation.

The city is paying Spencer $28,000 for his services.

With the surveys due back to the city in early December, Haberle said the completion of the plan should take between three and four months from now. To his knowledge, the mayor said Jacksonville has never had a comprehensive parks plan in the past.

“We are the envy of many East Texas cities because, for our population, we have a large quantity of developed park land. We have about 225 acres of park land developed, and there is still another 150 acres at Nichols Green that has yet to be developed,” Haberle said. “We sit in a good position as the world becomes more concerned with green spaces.”