Popular Palmetto Parks set to Receive Makeover

PALMETTO – Every night one can drive by Sutton and Lamb parks and witness an intense game of basketball on the well-lit courts. They will also see couples hitting doubles on the tennis court, families practicing baseball on the clay diamond, and children swinging freely on the monkey bars at the playground. But the racquetball court goes unutilized, and an old Jaycee’s bandstand seems out of place.

The Palmetto City Commission approved a plan by the Community Redevelopment Agency to start the revitalization process for both popular parks. CRA Director Jeff Burton says the plan is to refurbish the aspects in the park that people use, and get rid of the things people don’t. He hopes the whole project can be completed before Veteran’s Day in October, when he anticipates having a grand opening. Sutton Park was named in honor of all veterans, and Burton plans to continue that theme.

Burton encourages members of the community to show up for the public meeting on July 14, 2011, when they will be able to voice their opinion on what goes and what stays.

”We want to go in and redevelop everything. There will be something better there than what is already there, but what will be there – that is up to the community to decide,“ said Burton. ”That is why people need to be at this meeting, so that they can voice their concerns to their representatives and have a say in what goes into these parks – because these are our best parks.“

Since Palmetto was named ”Tree City USA“ by the Arbor Day Foundation in February, the PCC voiced concerns about cutting down any of the appealing greenery that shades the area. Burton said that he plans to continue the green theme throughout the park and extend the lighted pathway along Seventh Street which meanders on the north side, all the way around both parks. The trail is lit with lamp posts and covered by an oak canopy.

Another popular event that has been taking place at Sutton, is a ”the movie in the park“ where a family movie is projected on a inflatable mega-screen on the first Friday of the month. The event usually coincides with the ”First Fridays on Fifth“ event hosted by Slick’s Garage. This is a charity fundraiser that features a car show and live music.

Many of the new proposed park changes have come about as a result of a market study by FourSquare Research which was conducted by the CRA in February to assess opportunities for outdoor recreational activities and a new YMCA in Palmetto. The research included in-depth telephone interviews with over 600 randomly-selected households that live in the targeted survey area. The findings were surprising.

The study revealed strong to moderate interest for a variety of outdoor recreational activities at Palmetto city parks. Walking, running or biking on an outdoor trail system that would connect all city parks was the most popular activity, followed by outdoor water sports, outdoor high ropes course and climbing towers, and outdoor sports for children. The CRA has already started construction on the trail system that would incorporate many of these activities.