One of Jacksonville’s regional parks is getting a massive upgrade.
Lonnie Miller Park in Northwest Jacksonville has long been associated more with environmental questions than anything else, but now the City says they’re ready to bring a new life with new facilities.
Councilman Reggie Brown- who represents the District where the Park is- put forward a plan to add tennis courts, basketball courts, a multi-use field, and an outdoor amphitheater stage to Lonnie Miller Regional Park. The proposal also adds trails, parking lots, and picnic pavilions, and funds the design of a baseball complex.
“You don’t have to leave the community in order to enjoy all of the recreational facilities that one is looking for. I want to have a one-stop shop there,” Brown says.
In total, the two bills that were approved by Jacksonville’s City Council Tuesday night allocate a little more than $3.13 million for the project. The funding comes from a combination of Community Redevelopment Area funding and banking fund dollars.
Others on the Council are lining up behind Brown to show support.
“To the degree that we can create youth activities and community activities, I think that really provides an opportunity for our city to come together,” says Councilman Greg Anderson.
Anderson had resistance to the proposal at the Committee level because he questioned how the funding was shaping up. Since that time, however, he says they’ve been able to put together a substitute legislation that lays out essentially the same project, but with clear costs and funding sources. With the changes, he’s now in full support of the project.
“At the end of the day, this park, it really should be a community asset that will bring people together,” he says.
With the park’s location in Northwest Jacksonville, the improvements are designed to give youth active options- like organized sports- to gather safely. The additional pavilions and trails can also work for community gatherings.
“We are just trying to add more amenities and more structures to make everyone feel welcome to come to the Park,” Brown says.
The park has long been a concern in the community because of environmental questions in connection to the history of the land, which was used for dumping. Jacksonville’s Public Works Department tells WOKV that the City has- to date- remediated 70 parcels and 37 parcels have been determined to not require remediation. Additionally, we’re told the EPA approved removing 163 parcels.
Brown says the courts and parking lots under this proposal serve as caps on the land, basically allowing them to cover- rather than clean- the parcels. He says this serves the overall goal of remediating the site, although there will be legislation in the coming weeks to address any lingering concerns.
In total, the City says that adds to remediation on the site being 97% complete.
The Council is hoping to find more funding in the future to continue to expand it. Right now, only design of the baseball complex is approved. In addition to bringing that to a reality, Andersons says they would also look for money to add lights to the tennis courts, add a track to the multi-use facility, and more.
Brown hopes to have some of the new facilities open within a year..
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