City of Hickory Parks and Recreation Director Mack McLeod was the first to speak. He gave a historical perspective about the origins of the park proposal. In 1979, a Hickory Park Master Plan was developed which designated the Cloninger Mill site as a future site of interest. In 1997 the Master Plan was reviewed and Cloninger Mill came to the forefront as a good area to develop a new park. They realized at that time that it would need to be developed as a passive recreational park. Money subsequently dried up and until now the park has not been a priority.
A passive recreational park has outdoor activities compatible with preserving natural resources such as wildlife habitats and floodplain protection. This park would allow for limited picnicking, walking trails, bike trails, and scenic views of nature near Lake Hickory. It could even host an amphitheatre. All of this could be done without costing the city very little, while enhancing what is an undeveloped asset.
Site Solutions (http://www.sitesolutionspa.com/PROFILE.HTM) is the firm that has been chosen to develop the site. Derek Williams gave an overview about what developing a passive park on this site involved. He displayed a map of the proposed 75-acre site, which included 2 areas that would be held back from the proposed parks development.
One of the two areas abuts Hwy127. This area would be used as a proposed commercial site. The other area, at the opposite side of the park, would be used for residential real estate development. There are full utilities capabilities and the city could sell these pieces of real estate and infuse those proceeds back into the park.
Jeff Ashbaugh gave a more thorough overview of the land, its terrain, and the issues involved in the development of the project. The area is heavily wooded, there is a natural waterfall at the center of the park (though it is more of a runoff area), the property has many steep graded slopes, and there are very few level areas. That is the reason that the area is proposed as a passive park.
Interjecting into the discussion were mostly residents of the area. Many seemed not to support the proposed project. One issue is that of parking. The people didn’t like the proposed parking areas in the preliminary drawings.
The residents didn’t like the thoughts of projected increases in traffic along Cloninger Mill Road, 9th st ne, and 45th ave lane. They stated that children play out there and there is already a high level of traffic on those streets.
Several people told developers that there needed to be a traffic light where 9th st ne meets Cloninger Mill Rd. The developers tried to explain that that may be proposed in the master plan, but that was the city’s responsibility. Mr. Ashbaugh said that maybe these residents might want to talk to the city about a proposed traffic light. He said that the developers would look into it.
Another issue that was expounded upon was that of security. Issues of robbery, break-ins, and drugs were brought up. Residents stated that there were already issues of crime in those neighborhoods and they were worried that they would worsen. .
One lady seemed frightened at the thoughts of the park buttressing her back yard. She asked about the definition of a buffer and what was the state code on that buffer. Mr. Ashbaugh stated that he believed it to be 12 feet, but that they were going to make it much greater than that.. The lady cackled that she wanted a buffer the distance of a football field.
Another lady asked about where proposed picnic areas would be. When shown the general area, she firmly scoffed that it was in her backyard. Mr. Williams pointed more specifically that the area was "a football field away" from her house.
One gentleman attending the meeting said that he lived in northwest Hickory, within walking distance of Geitner Park and Hilton Park. He stated that maybe the residents of the Cloninger Mill area might want to talk to residents of northwest Hickory about the effects of parks on their area and the implications a park might have on the Cloninger Mill area.
They had people at the meeting take five dots and place them on a list of ten areas of activity interest in the proposed park. Mr. Williams and Mr. McLeod discussed and then promised to put the proposed design plans for the park online. There were various discussions taking place, as I left.
In the Hounds Opinion, This meeting was embarrassing to this city. People! This was a proposal! Why were you frothing at the mouth? We can have better and more positive roundtable (
Someone in that neighborhood had to have been fostering this discontent before the meeting. It was more than obvious that many of the people had made up their mind, on the subject of a park, before attending this meeting. When it comes to a park, I think that you can afford to come in with a somewhat open mind.
I believe that it is alright to have concerns. That was what this meeting was about. It was about giving you a voice. They wanted to hear what you had to say, but why be so abrasive towards developers about a park. Those concerns would be better served by contacting the Mayor, City Council, or City Staff. It was embarrassing to treat people from a top-notch development firm (and guests of this city) the way that you did.
I personally believe that the idea of this park is a sound one. These people said that they had illegal activity going on in this area and they believed it would be exacerbated by the development of this park. I believe that is wrong on many, many levels. I think this would be an enhancement to your area and make it a lot more secure.
These residents can make a deal with the city and developers to put some recreation equipment on this property for their kids and then their kids won’t be playing in the streets. These developers have some of the best engineers in the world working for them. They aren’t going to slap this park up willy-nilly.
I really think that the parking situation will be resolved. There are a couple of access points that can easily be engineered to be more agreeable to these residents. Heck, they will probably get their light and/or new residential exiting roads to Cloninger Mill Road. This could be re-engineered so that residential exits will be better than they currently are. That is win-win-win.
Why so dour? Sometimes a gift is a gift and there doesn’t always have to be a catch. I wish I could have this park in my backyard. A place to walk or run besides the streets, the same for biking, a nice place to have a picnic, a developed setting to go sit and meditate by the lake, and/or a cleaned up site that has a reduced chance of wildfire. Ask people that live on a golf course, there are many more benefits than the minimal intrusion to privacy – and how would that be guaranteed anyway?
This will be an enhancement to the area and many people will be more attracted to an area with such a development so close. The aesthetics, along with simple supply and demand, will mean that you have a great real estate investment on your hands. And guess what? It will be the cheapest investment, with the least risk and the biggest reward that you could ever dream of.
