Parks department looking to 2019, future

While Mountain Brook may be improving roads, bridges and sidewalks in the coming year, residents will see a good deal of work done through the Parks and Recreation Department, too.

JEMISON PARK

Hundreds, if not thousands, of runners and walkers use Jemison Park each year, but the trails weren’t necessarily built for that degree of use, Joel Eliason of Nimrod Long and Associates said at the Nov. 13 City Council meeting.

To remedy the problem, the city, along with Nimrod Long, has developed a schematic to redo the trails through Jemison Park, which Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Shanda Williams presented on Nov. 13. 

The idea is to make them wider — “They want it wide enough that people can pass, but they don’t want it so wide that it looks like a road,” Williams said — and take the main trail out of the flood plain, which is frequently underwater after heavy or sustained rain.

“Where the concrete trail is, is in a low area and they’re wanting to push it to a high area,” Williams said. “And, the higher area is closer to the creek, so you’ll get some better views.”

Aside from the area of the trail that will be shifted closer to the creek, the new drawing for the main trail essentially follows the existing concrete path. 

Williams said, however, that the city is hoping to resurface some of the spur trails made by Eagle Scouts, particularly those that “have proven not to wash as badly.” The spur trails, which are on the other side of the creek from the main trail, would likely be made out of crushed gravel, she said, and would be incorporated into the main trail.

The material for the main trail is still under discussion as of press time. Williams said runners typically prefer softer surfaces than concrete, but concrete holds up well in the flood plain. 

“So, we’re having to weigh our options,” she said. 

The project is estimated to cost $850,000, but grants are available for this type of renovation. At the meeting on Nov. 13, the council approved the application for a recreational trails grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, which could award at maximum $400,000 to the project.

Williams said the city should hear results regarding the application in the spring, and if awarded to the city, the funds would be available in fiscal year 2020. In the meantime, City Manager Sam Gaston said the city would be setting aside money to help fund the rest of the project. 

Eliason said at the Nov. 13 meeting that this timeline is actually ideal, as it would allow time for planning and finalizing details until the funds are available.

President of the Friends of Jemison Park and Board of Landscape Design Sim Johnson said additional plantings are scheduled in Jemison Park in 2019, too.

Johnson said the first plantings will be done along the newly-installed pedestrian bridge over Shades Creek, and from there, they will determine which plants are best suited to fill out the rest of the park as a way to increase native biodiversity.

It should mean there will be more thoughtful maintenance done in the park, he said, so the native species can thrive and not be mowed over when other plants are being controlled. Johnson said the native plants will hopefully attract more native species of insects and animals.

The Friends of Jemison Park plan to take care of the plantings for the first couple years — “The hardest part is going to be getting it established,” Johnson said — before handing it over to the parks department.

ATHLETIC FIELDS 

Williams has additional renovations planned for the athletic fields at Mountain Brook High School in 2019.

The first, which was approved at the Nov. 19 Board of Education meeting, is to install four new lights at fields 3, 4, 6 and 7. Williams said this project initially aimed at installing the lights separately over time but after pricing the job out, “everybody thought getting them all done at once is just going to be better.”

This project is scheduled at $264,070 for the purchase and installation of all of the lights, and Williams said they hope to have them in by the time spring sports start at the high school.

Because the athletics fields’ budget was originally laid out for installing new lights over time, Williams said the Parks and Recreation Department and Mountain Brook Athletics reprioritized their to-do list for 2019 shortly before the new year. 

As of time of press, upcoming projects included grading the bank and addressing drainage issues, as well as installing bullpens for the girls softball fields. Once those are complete, Williams said they will re-evaluate the remaining budget and decide between upgrading the batting cages or moving and replacing the complex’s playground. Renovations the dugouts and work on Field 1 will likely have  to wait until the following year, she said.  

Much of this follows work completed by Dick Shea of Morris-Shea Bridge Company. 

RESTROOMS

The Mountain Brook Elementary field restroom is finally set to be installed toward the end of this summer, after much planning, designing and redesigning since 2016. 

As of press time, the mound for the restroom — which needed to be built to raise the structure out of the flood plain — was built, and contractors were working on running the plumbing out to the location. Williams said the next step will be to run electricity out and then the company will bring in the prefabricated facility, place it over the plumbing stubs and it will be operable. 

“[I’m] hoping once this mound gets built, the rest of it will go pretty smooth,” she said. 

The Crestline Elementary field restroom, which Williams said was proposed before the MBE restroom, is back on the table this year, too.

“We’re working on the plans and my goal is to have that one’s work started on it next summer,” she said. The CES restroom will not be a standalone structure, but rather one restroom added to the existing concession stand. She said the addition will be bricked to match the rest of the building, and everything will be re-roofed so it blends. 

Finally, Williams said the parks department will again be removing invasive plant species, but this time from the Cahaba River Walk. Most of this work will be done while it is colder out, as “winter is the best time to remove invasive plants,” she said. 

This story is part of our Year in Preview. See more here.