FROM STAFF REPORTS
Mooresville town officials have turned down a request by the Meadows at Reed Creek HOA to make major improvements to Reed Creek Park.
During Monday afternoon’s board briefing, commissioners reached a consensus that Reed Creek Park, which has been owned by the town since 1994, “does not have adequate public access, appropriate parking or amenities, and it primarily benefits the residents” of the subdivision.
As a result, it does not meet the definition of a park and will be redefined as a natural open space.
Reed Creek Park comprises about 8.5 acres. According to town officials, only about three acres are mowed during the growing season. The remaining land includes the creek and tree acreage.
After evaluating the property, town officials decided to re-create a gravel path around the perimeter of the mowed portion of the park, install a fence around a culvert in the wooded area, and continue mowing the space once a week from April through October, according to a letter from Town Manager Randy Hemann to the HOA president.
Commissioners agreed that paving the pathway, at an estimated cost of $58,000, would be cost prohibitive, but they agreed the town would pay for the fencing around the culvert because it posed a potential safety hazard for children.
“No further amenities will be added by the Town of Mooresville except for a future greenway that may be constructed along the wooded portion of the property,” Hemann wrote.
The town will also remove two pet waste stations unless the HOA wants to keep and maintain them.
Parks and Recreation Director Pam Reidy said that developing an ADA-compliant facility and parking area in the space would also be a costly undertaking.
Commissioner Thurman Houston suggested that the town sell the property to the HOA or provide a long-term lease so the residents could make and pay for improvements to the park if that was their desire.
Reidy will take that proposal to the HOA.
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
During Monday night’s meeting, the board:
♦ Accepted four streets (Summrow Court, Glastonbury Drive, East Neel Ranch Road and Willow Valley Drive, in the Heritage at Neel Ranch subdivision for maintenance. The roads total about 4,500 linear feet.
♦ Approved a request from the Police Department to seek $125,048 in grant funding from the N.C. Department of Public Safety to fund a fifth year for the special victims detective and add a new community resource officer. The town would have to provide 41,683 in funding if the grant is awarded.
♦ Approved a request to amend a contract with Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems of Charlotte by $17,600 in include cleaning services for the town library. This will bring the contract to $56,108. Jan-Pro currently provides cleaning services for the police department and public operations center.
♦ Awarded Maymead Inc. a contract not to exceed $991,016.15 for milling, repaving and restriping six miles of town-owned streets in the spring of 2020.