By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

 

A much-anticipated agenda was posted on Thursday concerning a Public Workshop to gather comments and ideas about an outdoor sports complex for the community.

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 29 at the Orange Public Library in the Ira Williamson Meeting Room inside the library.

This is an opportunity for the public to voice their opinion on what they would like to see as part of an outdoor sports complex.

If one already knows they will be out of town on the date of the meeting, they should send a letter to City Hall with their comments.

Taking part in this meeting is part of becoming actively involved in the community. Taking Mayor Larry Spears Jr.’s lead, I am encouraging everyone to participate in this meeting so we may continue to see positive changes in the city.

It is citizens who were concerned about Navy Park who attended a meeting, which helped create more improvements for the park as reported in a December edition of The Orange Leader.

May recreation Equipment and Design was awarded a contract in the amount of $94,251.55 for the purchase and installation of playground equipment and a water fountain for the park.

“After this, the city will use our own force to install the volleyball court and then the benches,” Grants Planner Sandra Wilson said during a December Orange City Cuncil meeting.

Spears thanked Wilson, Pullen, Council members Terrie Salter and Paul Burch for the great success of the park.

“The reason for public hearings is to help prioritize and it really helped,” Wilson said. “We had about 30 citizens attend. They drew out maps of how they wanted things.”

“This money is only allotted for Navy Park,” Spears added.

Wilson explained Lion’s Den did not qualify for the grant.

“Navy Park is called a pocket park, a neighborhood park,” Wilson said. “The CDBG funds could only be used on a pocket park. This is an example of how citizens can really drive a project.”

Help drive the outdoor sports complex by being proactive in the gathering of comments and ideas for this project.