Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Memorial Park topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Henry County staff seeks $250,000 from council to extend READY-funded Memorial Park water loop
Summary
County staff reported the READY grant covered $500,000 with county matching to fund a $2.1 million Memorial Park water/sewer project and asked commissioners to support a $250,000 supplemental request to county council to add a loop serving the McGrady Shelter and future north-side expansion.
Mr. Murphy delivered an update on the READY grant for Memorial Park’s infrastructure, saying the county received $500,000 in READY funds and combined that with a county match to bring the project to an all‑in cost of roughly $2.1 million. He told commissioners he plans to ask county council for an additional $250,000 to add a water loop that would serve the McGrady Shelter and stub a line across County Road 100 North to support future development and resilience.
Murphy said the additional work is timely because contractors will already be on site to complete the READY project: “We received $500,000 in ready two money. The county matched that with 1.6 to get 2.1 all inclusive,” he said, and asked commissioners for support to request the extra funds from council.
Park staff and several commissioners discussed trade-offs. A Memorial Park staff member warned the county’s electrical infrastructure is already a safety concern, describing a recent incident in which a dog “touched it and shocked it almost to death” near children and said the park’s eroding wire and metal poles have been patched repeatedly. The staff member said grants currently tracked are targeted at new amenities and require substantial local matches, and that small local grants (for example, the Henry County Community Foundation) are insufficient to cover large infrastructure needs.
Commissioners pressed on prioritization. One commissioner asked whether the extra $250,000 would be better spent on urgent electrical repairs than on the water loop; staff responded that READY funds are restricted to water infrastructure and the $250,000 would be a separate request to the county council. Several commissioners expressed verbal support for asking the council to consider that supplemental funding while noting the county’s limited resources and competing needs.
County staff said the $250,000 figure is conservative and noted actual bids could be lower, but cautioned that material and fuel prices can affect final costs. No formal commitment of county funds was made at the meeting; commissioners agreed to support Murphy’s plan to take the $250,000 request to the county council for consideration.
The meeting record shows commissioners approved related park administrative items earlier in the agenda (a $2,739.98 affidavit for the Memorial Park ponds) and directed staff to continue grant-seeking and prioritization work. The next procedural step is for county staff to present the $250,000 request to the county council; any allocation will be a separate council decision.
