OPINION: Now not the time to develop new park

Voters might approve a recreation bond referendum to develop the new park, but last week’s resounding defeat of T-SPLOST casts a pall over any new effort to finance public infrastructure. Even if voters did approve a bond referendum and the city could develop the property off Waterworks Road and Stark Street, the city is clearly not in a position to staff and maintain a major new park.

The current site is also too small to accommodate the needs identified by both the recent recreation town hall meeting and the 2008 comprehensive recreation plan. When the city acquired the latest parcel from a bank that had foreclosed on the property, the hope was to acquire additional land through either a purchase or a land swap with an adjacent property owner. That individual, city officials say, is not willing to discuss the situation, so short of condemnation — not something the city council is likely to consider – the development of the new park is stymied on that front as well.

Frankly, this is not the time for Commerce to begin any projects that are not of critical necessity, and as much as residents want their children to have better recreation opportunities, recreation is not a critical service. This is a time to stand pat, to make do with what we have — as households all over Commerce are doing. With utility rates freshly raised and a tax increase imminent already, it is a time to avoid adding new maintenance burdens to city staff and costs to the general fund.

Commerce remains in solid fiscal condition, but it is not in a position to take on any new expenses that will ultimately be passed on to taxpayers or ratepayers. The city council has indicated that it will accept the $75,000 grant — and the stipulations that go with it — to help pay for the recent purchase. Acquisition of the property remains a top priority, even if it means further tapping into the city’s reserves. The council can revisit the development of the Waterworks Road park site once there is economic recovery.

Until then, Commerce will just have to maximize the utilization of the recreation facilities it already has or has access to. Recreation director Scott Rodgers has already identified properties whose owners are willing to let them be used for practice fields, for example. With that kind of creativity, the city can meet the recreation needs of its children — and perhaps its adults — until it is in a position to develop the new park. Maybe by then the city can find a way to acquire the additional acreage required to develop the kind of park citizens want and need.