By DOTTY NIST
April 29 was the first chance for community members to meet with representatives of the firm that will be designing the South Walton Sports Park. This was at a workshop hosted at the South Walton Annex.
About 10 people attended who were not employed by the county or the consulting company. Walton County District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows and Walton County Administrator Larry Jones were in the audience.
Rick Wilson, Walton County special projects manager, introduced the project and the consultants to attendees, noting that through the public input process leading up to the county acquiring property for the sports park it had been determined that the park would serve local youth and community members.
To design the sports park, Wilson continued, the county had looked for a firm experienced in sports park projects and had found this in Lose & Associates, a company that has done approximately 600 such projects across the county.
He introduced Lose & Associates representatives Whit Alexander and John Sexton.
Speaking to attendees, Alexander commented that at previous public meetings on the sports park the consensus for facilities desired by the public had been for baseball and softball fields, multi-purpose fields, walking trails, pavilions and playgrounds.
For those not familiar with the location for the sports park, Alexander noted that it is to be built on approximately 34 acres behind the property where a new school will be located.
The new school planned by the Walton County School Board and the sports park are to be constructed a little over two miles east of Emerald Coast Middle School on the north side of U.S. 98.
Alexander said a wetland in the corner of the sports park property would be left as is and that a nice live oak tree would also stay. The property is already mostly cleared, he explained.
It will be possible to share parking with the school, saving costs, Alexander continued. He told attendees that his company likes to incorporate mini-green spaces inside a sports complex with shade and picnic tables. Netting rather than chain link is used around sports fields for protection, he commented.
Alexander said the company likes to use as many rectangular fields as possible and likes to cluster multi-use fields for flexibility. For playgrounds, they like to separate those for children five and under from those for five and older, and use canopies for shade over the playgrounds, he said. Interactive features are used in playgrounds to keep children’s interest, Alexander noted.
He emphasized the use of durable materials for concessions and pavilion facilities and envisioned incorporating local character into the structures.
Alexander asked for attendees’ input to help prioritize facilities and features for the sports park. Comments were taken on index cards. Those in attendance were also given stickers to vote on the facilities they would favor by applying those on a poster showing four priorities based on previous input, including: 1) baseball and softball fields, 2) multi-purpose fields, 3) walking trails, and 4) pavilions and playgrounds.
Attendee Michael Sturdivant raised a question about a skate park that had been discussed in earlier meetings on the sports complex. He said it was his understanding that this had been identified as a priority through public input. He also said it seemed from Alexander’s comments that it had already been decided what would go into the sports park.
Alexander responded that it was his understanding that Helen McCall Park rather than the new sports complex had been identified as the future location of a skate park, due to the location of that park being more centralized in the county.
Wilson also responded that it would be up to the public what facilities would be provided in the new sports park.
Alexander said input was now being sought for a “master plan” for the park. What the public wants may exceed available funding, and it is likely that not everything planned for the park will be built when a ribbon is cut for the sports park, he explained.
Alexander envisioned that construction on the sports park would begin in early 2016 and that a ribbon cutting would take place in early 2017.
He noted that there would be a presentation of a preliminary plan for the park within a few weeks to a month.
After the meeting, Commissioner Meadows commented that she was disappointed that so few people had attended the meeting with the consultants.
“This is a multi-million-dollar project that we’ve been working on getting specifically for the citizens of Walton County,” she said.
County commissioners will soon be getting cost estimates to see what facilities available funds can provide at the park, Meadows continued.
“We need your input moving forward…the time is now,” she emphasized.
Public input on the sports park is possible online through a survey form on the Walton County web site, www.co.walton.fl.us under “News.” This news section and local media will also provide information about future public meetings on the sports park.
