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Wakulla County details parks, boat-ramp and facilities work; ParkMobile and online reservations launched
Summary
County parks and facilities staff gave an operational overview listing completed and planned projects across county parks, reported reservation and permit counts, and noted implementation of ParkMobile and an online reservations system; FEMA notified the county it expects an obligation for the Mash Sands pier by the end of the month.
Cody, a parks and facilities staff member, presented the department's fiscal-year operational overview, reporting recent upgrades across Wakulla County parks and facilities and rollout of online reservation and payment systems.
Cody said the county maintains more than 74 parks, buildings, boat ramps, trails and public areas. This year the department processed 246 facility rentals and reported 1,903 campground reservations at Newport Campground. The county sold 2,056 daily boat-launch permits, 319 annual boat-launch permits, and 257 ParkMobile digital payments at boat ramps since ParkMobile’s March implementation, Cody said. He also noted the county recently implemented an online reservations system for facilities.
Cody listed completed and in-progress projects: rubberized surfacing at Zelle Park wall control (expected finish by June 1, weather permitting), resurfacing at Hickory Park (basketball/tennis courts with added pickleball lines), new trail lighting at Hudson Park, a new parking lot and lighting at Meadowlark Recreation Park, replenished beach sand and ADA mobility mats at Mash Sands Beach and Shell Point Beach, removable safety handrails at beach parking areas, interior and exterior renovations at animal control and Smith Creek Fire Station, a new maintenance facility for the sheriff’s office, and building renovations at multiple county offices.
On Mash Sands pier funding, a county speaker said the latest information from FEMA indicates the agency "should have an obligation by the end of this month" for the pier project. The parks presentation also listed future projects including Crossville Community Center bathroom and gym expansion, the new Wakulla County Library relocation, St. Mark’s Fire Station, an evidence-room expansion for the sheriff’s office, Highway 98 and Highway 9 landscape beautification projects, channel marker repairs at Oglotny Bay, and a new Emergency Operations Management building.
Commissioners asked about staffing levels; Cody replied the parks/facilities team has 12 staff. Board members and staff also discussed parking and traffic management at large events, the need for volunteers and coaches for youth sports, and coordination with sheriff’s deputies for traffic control on busy days. The presentation concluded with commissioners praising staff work on parks and facilities upgrades.
