Guntown wants public input on City Park
Apr. 9—GUNTOWN — Guntown is working on a long-term master plan for its city park and wants the community's suggestions on how to improve it.
The city will host a visioning session Tuesday April 13 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. The staff of the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center at Mississippi State University will oversee the 2-hour come and go gathering.
"They want to get input from the surrounding community, not just Guntown," said Guntown City Clerk Mary Roberts. "They don't want the city to offer any suggestions. They will talk to people face to face to get their thoughts. Then they will go back and compile the data into a master plan for the park."
So if someone wants a water park, a splash pad, covered basketball courts, walking trails, they need to set aside a few minutes at lunchtime Tuesday to drop by Guntown City Park at 1571 Main Street. The session will be held outside to allow for social distancing. If it rains, the even will be held inside the community center at the park.
The 17.5-acre park currently has a community center, a stage, one tennis court, three baseball/softball fields and a one-third mile walking track. The park is confined by roads on the north and south, and Guntown Middle School is to the west. The land to the east in privately held.
"There is not really room to expand," Roberts said. "We are looking to give it a facelift, to renovate what we have or make better use of the land we have."
The city has been looking to revamp the park and bring it up to date for a few years. While many ideas had been thrown around, the city had never gone as far as to develop a long-range master plan. Roberts called down to Mississippi State and they put her in touch with Leah Kemp at the Small Town Center.
During a conference call last summer between Kemp and city leaders, the initial plan to hold a planning session was hashed out. But the coronavirus pandemic forced the meeting to be delayed for months.
They waiting until spring to let people get warm weather and outdoor activities on their minds before holding the planning session. The delay had another benefit, it allowed officials to secure free money to fund the session.
"Leah (Kemp) looked and noticed that the Create Foundation had not done anything in Guntown for a while," Roberts said. "She was able to secure a grant to pay for the Small Town Center to not only do the planning session but also the master plan."
As a service to people who will be stopping by on their lunch hour, there will be two food trucks — The Gypsy and The Mobile Chef — available.
For more information, contact Guntown City Hall at 662-348-5353.
