Gadsden City reopens campground at city park; officials highlight local tourism boost

Gadsden City officials and contractors celebrated the reopening of a city-operated campground that had been closed for more than a year, saying the facility reopened on the 17th and quickly began taking guests.

Mayor Ford, speaking at the reopening event, said the city was “ecstatic” to see campers return and noted that staff reported 10 reservation spots remained for the upcoming weekend. “How many cities would love to have a park like this?” Ford said. He added that at one time the state considered making the site a state park but a prior local administration kept it under city control.

City parks staff described the wait for the campground’s return. “We've been without our campground for over a year now, so we are really, really excited to have it back. We opened on the seventeenth and, the first camper rolled in 3 hours early and he was a local and he could not wait,” a parks staff member said.

Contractor representatives and designers described the scope of the work. A representative for the contractor said it was a “mass earth movement job with rock movement,” and that some contractors shy away from that level of rock work. The project was designed by Goodall Mills in Caywood; Lambert Contracting was named as the contractor.

Officials and contractors emphasized the expected economic benefit to nearby businesses. A city staff member said weekend visitors are likely to “go to our restaurants… our historic downtown. That's 1.5 miles away, and they're gonna spend their money.” Mayor Ford linked the reopening to the city’s GROW master plan and said more projects and announcements are planned, adding, “But you gotta crawl before you walk and walk before you run.”

No formal votes or motions were recorded on the reopening during the remarks in the transcript supplied. The speakers framed the event as a completed construction project and a step toward broader economic-development goals in the GROW master plan.