Starkville in Motion, an advocacy group for sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, began recruitment in February for their new Adopt-A-Park initiative and will gather for their first meeting from 9 a.m. to 12 April 14 at J.L. King Senior Memorial Park.
The Adopt-A-Park initiative is a program designed to recruit volunteers and assign a leader for each park in Starkville to have regular maintenance days and beautification projects done throughout the year, rather than one annual cleanup project.
Chris Ayers, treasurer for Starkville in Motion, said the purpose of this project is not only to better the park system, but to also strengthen the communication between the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department and the community it serves.
“Starkville in Motion really is serving as a mediator between the parks department for the city and local community organizations,” Ayers said. “Organizations can communicate through us the things they would like to see done in the parks. Then, we can tailor that information to the parks department. We hope this process will be beneficial for both sides.”
David Harned, president of Starkville in Motion, said years ago, a master park survey concluded the community enjoyed the number of existing parks, but wanted the parks to be better maintained. However, Harned said at the time of the survey, the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department did not have enough financial resources to maintain the parks in pristine condition.
“Parks are not part of our mission, but they do play into our same interests because parks encourage physical activities, and encourage development of city infrastructure, such as building and maintaining sidewalks to go to the parks,” Harned said. “We have shifted our focus a bit, but it is still within the realm of our mission.”
The City of Starkville will provide supplies for park maintenance and clean-ups. However, beautification projects are individually funded and chosen in accordance with what the volunteers and members of the community want to accomplish in each specific park.
Harned said they are trying to avoid placing barriers on this program in order to have as much involvement as possible. Both organizations and individuals are invited to participate in the Adopt-A-Park program, and as long as the program is in place, registration will remain open.
“A lot of people have shown interest, but the problem we have faced is not effectively getting the word out since we are a small organization,” Harned said. “We have posted information about the program with Volunteer Starkville and the Maroon Volunteer Center, as well as on our website and social media accounts, but the reach can only go so far. We want to get the word out there so that people can sign up and participate in park cleanups.”
Ayers said Starkville in Motion has collaborated with both the city parks department and Keep Starkville Beautiful for support and guidance on this project since the beginning of the program’s foundation in September 2017.
“The city park system has been very supportive of this project and very helpful,” Ayer said. “We look forward to working with them, and we hope that more groups will decide to take community ownership and responsibility for their local parks.”
While the parks and recreation department of Starkville is not directly involved in the Adopt-A-Park initiative, Gerry Logan, interim director of the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department, said they are providing support as needed and are glad Starkville in Motion has created this initiative.
“We have an aging infrastructure, and to do the things we really need to do is hard within the confines of our current budget,” Logan said. “We always want a bigger budget, and we will make that argument when it comes time. In the short term, we will continue to make improvements as we can within our current resources.”
Since Logan entered his role last December, beautification projects were completed at each of Starkville’s seven parks. Logan said a majority of the improvements are at J.L. King Senior Memorial Park with the renovation of the softball field, installation of a new pavilion roof and the building of a new playground.
Logan said the current budget for the parks department is approximately $1.3 million, including the cost of salaries. With this budget, the parks department has a list of small-scale improvements to be completed over the next several months, along with larger projects they also hope to accomplish.
The Starkville Parks and Recreation Department just finished a city-wide initiative, the State of the Parks initiative, which was comprised of six community public input meetings, giving the community a chance to discuss ways to improve the current park system.
“We have been very active and proactive in gathering that input from the community,” Logan said. “We have seen a good response from the community at these meetings with around 60 people in total attendance for the six meetings.”
The City of Starkville also looks to purchase land with the intent to build a sports complex to hold tournaments. Logan said he believes the construction of a sports complex will have a domino effect on the whole community, and the parks department, especially since the land will be part of the parks and recreation department. This effect could include a larger budget for the parks department, which would allow for more development of the park system.
Logan said he is hopeful the combined efforts of the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department and Starkville in Motion will make it possible to renovate and maintain Starkville’s current parks.
“We have an aging park system, but also have a dedicated staff and community. We are hoping to make as many improvements as we can with our current resources,” Logan said. “I would like to think people are seeing the impact and will continue to see that impact as time passes.”