Dodge City adjusts park hours

Patrick Camp, The Cullman Times, Ala.
Updated ·2 min read

Oct. 19—DODGE CITY — The town of Dodge City is gearing up for the quickly approaching holiday transition by adjusting hours at Ray Park.

Earlier this year, the council extended the park's hours by 30 minutes after a resident informed mayor Jason Burney how he was unable to visit the park with his granddaughter in the evenings after he picked her up around 5 p.m. At the time, the council extended park hours until 6:30 p.m.

During the council's Thursday, Oct. 12 meeting, Burney suggested readjusting to the previous closing time of 6 p.m. due to the dwindling daylight hours. Councilmember Heather Langley added to the mayor's proposal by including the seasonal closing date of Wednesday, Nov. 1. Both suggestions were unanimously approved.

Ray Park will continue to be open daily until 6 p.m. until Oct. 31.

The council also received a design proposal for the park's entrance. Langley said she wasn't unequivocally opposed to the rendering, but had envisioned a much more curved design than the angular one which was presented. Councilmember Jerry Lynn said the cause for the design's sharp angles likely fell on the materials which would be used to fabricate the sign. He said the square tubing shown in the rendering was not able to be curved in the same way cylindrical tubing could be.

Ultimately, Burney suggested tabling the decision until the November meeting to give the council an opportunity to formulate other design suggestions.

Township Deputy David Pitts told the council he "wished every month could be like the last one" during his monthly report. Pitts said Dodge City appeared to be the outlier in Cullman County by having no notable incidents to report.

"The whole entire county has been upside down with suicide attempts and wrecks, but Dodge City has just been wonderful," Pitts said.

In other business the council:

* Approved a bid of $8,663 from Cullman Cleaning Plus to wax both the ground level and basement floors.

* Approved to surplus the unused white car owned by the town.

* Approved to change the date of the next scheduled council meeting to Thursday, Nov. 16.