The first look at new concept plans for the new County Farm Road and renovations at the Ware Street Park were unveiled at the recreation board meeting last Tuesday morning.
Project manager John Stover of Carter and Sloope of Macon made the presentation. Carter and Sloope is the architect for the projects.
Stover presented several different proposals featuring combinations of field layouts at both locations. Stover also announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have determined wetlands issues won't be an issue at the tract on County Farm Road.
The architect said that three areas on the County Farm site have been identified as wetlands, the Corps of Engineers will allow two of them to be filled in. A wetlands area near the back of the property will have to remain undeveloped.
The county closed on the purchase of the 39.5 acre tract near Pierce County Middle School for the expansion of the Pierce County Recreation Complex in December, 2023. The county voted in September, 2023 to purchase the land at an estimated cost of $296,000 from PTC Real Estate, a company affiliated with Pierce Timber Company.
Stover told the recreation board last July they were looking at seven months to a year before the wetlands could be identified and permits issued for work to begin. This month would mark seven months.
The proposals for the new County Farm complex include having a baseball/softball complex or doing a soccer, football and pickleball complex there. Additionally, Stover presented plans featuring both options at Ware Street. The William Wall Complex on Ware Street would also include a new recreation administration office and a new gym.
The Ware Street complex would also utilize additional land the county purchased for recreation use across Yeomans Street.
Rec board members have said they would like a complex featuring 4-6 “square fields” for football and soccer, 6-8 baseball/softball fields, a two court basketball gym, two tennis courts and two pickleball courts, a walking track, a multipurpose room for bingo, shooting sports for 4-H and coach meetings and an administration building.
Recreation board member Brad Arington said he was in favor of a total, brand-new reconstruction of Ware Street, not just a renovation.
“We can’t just keep putting lipstick on (Ware Street) to improve its appearance and make it look good,” he said. “We need to just start over and rebuild it.”
In addition to recreation board members, County Chairman Neal Bennett, County Manager Raphel Maddox, third district commissioner Randy Dixon, fourth district Commissioner David Lowman and Recreation Director Maureen Brown were all in attendance.
The architect also said he figured in parking and roadway access for both parks, but particularly for the County Farm Road site.
The County Farm Road/U.S. Highway 84/Shiloh Road project would address the entrance and exit to the park, likely long before the facility is built.
Under a Transportation Investment Act (TIA) project, the U.S. 84/County Farm Road/Shiloh Road project is currently underway and will be re-configured to improve traffic flow there. In addition to adding turning lanes and widening the intersection. Shiloh Road will be extended from its current roadbed to the rear of United Market and connect U.S. 84 with County Farm Road. The entrance and exit to the new recreation complex will be on the newly constructed section of Shiloh Road.
The cost and financing for the new complex were also discussed.
Recreation board members discussed ideas they gleaned from several recreation facilities including Ware County, Screven County and Adel in Cook County. Adel’s recently completed complex cost $7 million.
Chairman Bennett said the county has earmarked $1.1 million for recreation in the current special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST). The current SPLOST is projected to expire this year. A proposed extension of the SPLOST includes $2.35 million for recreation and will go before voters in a referendum March 18.
It has been suggested the complex renovations and construction may have to be done in phases.
