Algood City Council is eyeing a partnership with Performance Services to find funding for the new Algood City Park.
The park upgrades would consist of adding a parking lot, a community center, a splash pad, and enhancing the playground. Performance Services Manager Brian Stone said the company helps communities find savings in the municipality’s work.
“We can actually blend a project that utilizes some enterprise, some water/sewer funds, and general funds, both on the cash and the debt side,” Stone said. “And so we believe that if you kind of do your water meters, you upgrade your residential water meters, you’ll actually have an increase in revenue, which we could then funnel towards park improvements.”
Stone said the park and water meter upgrades together would cost an estimated $15 million. Councilman Luke Hill said the city should follow through with the partnership, as the cost of the park improvements is not going to get any cheaper.
“The numbers are not going down, the expense that you have to buy all the things, and the people to get out there and the machines to move the dirt, none of that stuff is gonna come down,” Hill said. “I don’t anticipate it. I am personally of the opinion to take out a little debt and let’s get folks a good park.”
Algood City Administrator Keith Morrison said a $10 million 20-year bond for the project would have the city pay an estimated $800,000 a year. Morrison said the city does not have to commit to the full $15 million project.
“We can pick and choose if you want to take the $500,000 we were putting towards the park, couple it with some other projects, do one route of water meters going automated, and scale this down and have them manage a smaller project,” Morrison said. “And then next year come back and chunk off another piece. We can do it that way.”
Morrison said the city believes people would use the park more often if more facilities and parking were available. Morrison said he thinks the council will review the options over the next month to determine how they want to move forward.
