Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson City Council approved moving ahead with the $13.75 million Linley Park Project on Tuesday, which will bring a major overhaul to the park.

Council will vote at the March 11 meeting on how to proceed. The new park will include an extensive redesign of the park (see below), with trails, a new pavilion, playground equipment, traffic and parking changes, and a priority of restoring the Whitner Creek which runs through the park to a natural state.

“Stream restoration was, first and foremost, in our plans for this design,” said Assistant City Manager Andrew Strickland.

Under the current design, the concrete drainage area and baseball field (baseball teams which used the field have been moved to the new field at the Anderson Recreation Center) on the park’s south end will be replaced with an extended wetlands area with wooden bridges and a small island complete with educational information about plants, animals and stormwater practices. The area, which is prone to flooding, would be able to handle heavy rains and serve as stormwater storage under the new design.

Throughout, natural wood will be used on buildings and playground equipment in keeping with the natural setting of the neighborhood.

The north end of the new design would feature what is internally being called a “Peanut-about,” a roundabout shaped like the nut which hopes to slow down and better manage traffic in the area.

“It’s an elegant solution to a complex problem,” said Strickland.

Strickland said the new sidewalks and landscaping throughout, plan to keep the vast majority of trees, and will have new crosswalks and an ADA accessible ramp.

The playground will include equipment partially chosen by children during one of the city’s public input meetings last fall and will feature a tower with a slide, a dome shaped climbing structure, and shading structures.

“It’s a novel concept and the playground consultant was shocked by the choices the kids made,” said Strickland.

If financing plans are approved at the March 11 city council meeting, groundbreaking is tentatively set for April and pending a bond consideration could begin by the end of the year.

Proposed funding for the $13.74 million project could come from a variety of sources, including: $357,000 from leftover special obligation funds, $3.89 million in American Rescue Plan funds, $750,000 from sewer funds, and $3.25 million from hospitality tax funds ($1.75 million from fiscal year 2024 and $1.75 million from fiscal year 2025). The remaining $5.84 million would have come from a bond issue, which requires approval of city council.

If such a bond is included, work on Linley Park could begin in November.

A project to upgrade and uplift Cater’s Lake could also be added to the bond, at a cost of an additional $5.5 million, which could be added to the bond if city council chooses to move in that direction.

City Moves Ahead on Linley Park Project; Funding Vote March 11

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