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Pulaski council to seek public input on McGill Park reopening and four park-naming proposals
Summary
Parks manager Nate Repass outlined a phased reopening for McGill Park, explained that 9.46 acres were acquired with LWCF funds and require a formal conversion process to change public-recreation status, and the council voted unanimously to send four naming proposals to public comment, including naming Draper Mountain Trails for Mike McMillian.
Nate Repass, Pulaski’s parks and trails manager, told the council the town holds roughly 9.46 acres of McGill Park purchased partly with the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and that LWCF-funded parcels must remain open for outdoor recreation unless converted through a federally approved exchange process. He said conversion would require environmental and historic reviews and a signature from the U.S. Department of the Interior and that any conversion needs an equivalent-value trade of similar property in the area.
"That property was acquired in 1958 ... and in return, that property is to remain open to the public for outdoor recreation in perpetuity," Repass said, summarizing LWCF constraints. He said a separate 1.31-acre lower parcel was acquired separately and may be available for development, but he recommended the council proceed cautiously because the main parcel is bound by LWCF conditions.
Repass proposed a phased reopening that would quickly restore trail access and walking areas while the town seeks grants and develops longer-term plans. Interim uses under consideration include off-leash or on-leash dog areas with waste stations, reopening former sports fields, and adding nine holes of disc golf in partnership with the New River Valley Disc Golf Club. He noted the skate and basketball courts require substantial renovation and that the town lacks staff to run active programming on the site.
The parks department also proposed naming or renaming three facilities and asked the council to send the proposals to public input: Draper Mountain Trails (recommended to honor Mike McMillian, a long-time local trail volunteer), a durable name for the 1st Street Complex (skate park and basketball courts), and renaming Kiwanis Park to honor the Moose Lodge for its recent maintenance contributions. Council members asked to include the bike park/skate area in the public-input process as well.
A council member moved and a seconded colleague asked that the naming proposals for all four parks be sent to public comment. The council approved the motion by roll call; the meeting transcript records affirmative responses for the named council members and the mayor. Repass said the public-input phase will include evening meetings at the train station, notices in the newspaper and the town newsletter, Facebook posts, QR-code surveys and suggested mail inserts with water bills to broaden outreach. After public input and internal review, the department will return recommended names for council consideration and an ordinance to adopt any names.
Repass said the department will invite family members of volunteers for memorial namings and will welcome input from the Moose Lodge on Kiwanis Park naming. He emphasized that the town will follow code naming criteria (generally naming parks for deceased individuals unless specific exceptions apply).
The council did not adopt any renamings at this meeting; it only authorized beginning the public-input process.
