Bay County Parks Department reports multiple site improvements, new playgrounds and Southport construction progress

At a Bay County Parks Advisory Board meeting, Parks staff provided a project update covering recent beach access upgrades, new playground and restroom work, pier and walking-track repairs, and ongoing construction at the Southport complex.

The presentation summarized completed and in-progress work across county parks. Parks staff said crews and contractors completed beach Access 1 (awaiting aluminum handrails), Access 19 (completed in-house), and multiple other beach accesses. Staff also showed photos of work at Bayou George Park, where a new playground material was scheduled to arrive “on the 20,” with installation to follow and removal of the existing play structure.

Parks staff said crews had started forming a new basketball court at Bayou George Park and that a grant had been awarded for the Highland (High Point) boat ramp; staff noted the project requires a local match. Staff displayed photos of restroom construction at Ira Hutchison (rough plumbing begun) and a completed restroom at Under the Oaks with new timed automatic locks to reduce vandalism.

The presentation also covered the Simmons walking track, which was repaved and widened from about 5 feet to 8 feet to better accommodate strollers and side-by-side walkers; the McCall Everett pier by the dam received erosion repairs and a contractor will extend portions to level the structure. At Isaac Berg, staff completed an expansion to an existing playground, with the pavilion still under construction.

Staff showed progress photos from the Southport complex, reporting a contractor-estimated completion figure of roughly 37 percent and that the project remains on track for a January completion window. Parks staff also showed the batting-cage/batting-complex structure and a poured pad for a kayak kiosk at Lake Powell; the kiosk and rental equipment were said to be on order with installation planned within months.

Parks staff opened the presentation by saying they would “go briefly through a little PowerPoint here to kinda update you guys on what Parks has been doing.” Board members asked a few clarifying questions about site access routes at Southport and expressed general satisfaction with the work, noting heavy summer use at some sites.

The update concluded with staff saying the department had completed a higher-than-usual number of beach access projects this year and that neighbors and user groups had been engaged on several items.

Ending: The presentations closed with questions from board members and no formal votes tied to specific capital projects; the board proceeded to other business, including a separate master-plan presentation and a recommendation vote (see separate article).