Day pitching pond idea for Gates Drive Park
By Arthur McLean Editor

A small pond at Gates Drive Park could be one of the next projects on the list for the city. Mayor Sheldon Day said he is interested in investigating the possibility of creating a small lake or pond at the park near the pavilion.

"Just about every other city you go to has a water feature in their parks," he said. "In Huntsville, you have water features everywhere."

Day articulated his idea saying the low-lying area near the picnic pavilion could be dammed near the railroad and a well could be used to pump water into the excavated area, creating a small pond roughly two to three acres in size.

The water from the pond and pump system could also be used in irrigating the playing fields at the park and high school, saving the water from the city's water system, easing demand and saving some money, he said.

Council members had a number of questions that Day said he would be able to answer once the option was investigated further.

Washington money

Day reported back that his trip to Washington, D.C. With other city officials to meet with elected representatives went well. "This year, we presented them a kind of grocery list of projects instead of just one big one, and they seemed to like that better," Day said. "That way, the can determine what earmarks they might have the best chance of getting for us."

Projects on the list of requests included money for improving and expanding the city's sewer treatment system, money for a proposed new library and road improvements near the high school and middle school.

Day said the federal earmarks are the best way for small communities to try to get federal funding for projects now. "The complications of going through some agencies have become so difficult that a lot of small towns are being fenced out of the process," he said.

Bids too high

Mirroring the city's experience with the civic center and fire station on Old Hwy. 5, bids for work at the Boys and Girls Club came in much higher than anticipated. Day said work will now be done to try to get the bids down to acceptable levels.

In other council business, the council approved a $600,000 building permit for the new Sonic restaurant that is to be located near Gaston's Grill on Hwy. 43.

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