Macon County commissioners press designers to rework Phase 1A park plan after floodplain, parking concerns

Macon County commissioners heard detailed construction and hydraulic findings on the proposed Phase 1A recreation improvements — including six tennis courts, multiple pickleball courts, a restroom pavilion and a pedestrian bridge — and asked designers to revisit the plans before advertising for construction bids.

Engineers from McGill Associates said hydraulic modeling tied to a proposed pedestrian bridge required moving the restroom/pavilion away from the originally shown central location to avoid raising floodplain elevations. Mike Norris of McGill said the restroom would need to be elevated roughly five feet to meet flood protection requirements; that elevation, combined with the bridge abutments, produced a modeled ‘‘rise’’ that imperiled a no‑rise permit outcome and risked encroaching on adjacent properties.

Why it matters: moving the restroom changed the master‑plan layout and several commissioners said the revised plan…