The city of Greenwood will pay construction costs for an access road near Clark Pleasant Middle School, and Clark Pleasant schools will have access to city-owned baseball and softball fields in exchange for parking near the middle school, Harvest Bible Chapel and a new elementary school set to open in 2021.
The trade-off is part of an interlocal agreement between the city and Clark-Pleasant schools. The road will be available for public use, and more parking will be available due to sharing.
The access road will cost between $500,000 and $600,000 and will be completed about the same time the elementary school opens, said Jay Staley, Clark-Pleasant business director.
Rob Taggart, the city’s parks and recreation director, said earlier this year he wanted to complete the new park, which will be located northwest of the Worthsville Road and Interstate 65 intersection, by the fall of 2020. Now, that timeline, along with the cost of the project, is up in the air. The city hopes to have a new timeline for the project by the fall, Taggart said.
“We’re looking at a ball diamond complex,” Taggart said. The city is considering building multiple diamonds.
“We’re thinking about park amenities, playgrounds, shelter houses, potentially a splash pad. All of this is proposed. We’re still early in the design phase,” Taggart said.
The city hasn’t put together the size of each park feature, such as the splash pad, although the plan is that by using parking near Clark-Pleasant schools, they can dedicate more of the park space to playing fields and recreational areas, rather than using space and money to fund more parking.
The city will communicate with Clark-Pleasant schools and Harvest Bible Chapel about how best to coordinate parking. The schools would get priority during special events, and the church would have priority during Sunday service, he said.
Although not much has been finalized, Taggart is excited about the prospect of a new park for Greenwood residents.
“We see this complex as being absolutely fantastic,” Taggart said. “It’s a draw not only for our internal programs but our adult rec softball and baseball leagues. Being right there on (Interstate) 65 will attract a lot of softball teams.”
The city will work with Clark-Pleasant to schedule times they can use the fields for practices and games, he said.
Clark-Pleasant Middle School does not yet have baseball or softball teams, Staley said.
