Supervisors have voted to allocate more funds to the Hoover Ridge Outdoor Recreation Center Project as progress at the site continues.
Last week, Madison County Supervisors approved two supplemental appropriations for the project, which aims to convert six acres of the more than 181-acre park property into basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, a new playground and splash pad, a new hockey rink and walking paths, shady structures and restrooms. Fundraising for the project has been ongoing for several years with the county allocating just under a million dollars to engineering, site work, stormwater work and more. Late last year, supervisors authorized a contract with Sparks at Play for the construction of the new accessible playground. That $714,657.49 contract is being funded using a portion of an approximately $1.6 million grant from the Walton and Ada Thompson Charitable Foundation. Walton and Ada Thompson relocated to Madison County in the 1970s and supported the community through donations to the rescue squad and other local organizations. The foundation continues their work. The playground is nearly complete with an opening set for later this summer.
One of the appropriations approved last week was the second half of the Thompson Foundation donation, with an additional $10,000 from Support Hoover Ridge and $60,000 from the Parks and Recreation Authority raised through events including Music in the Park and the Hometown Heroes Gala. The funds will be used to install the splash pad at a cost of $956,000. When originally bid, the price tag was approximately $872,000 and that included colored concrete which has since been removed. Also removed are a $30,000 grinder pump and additional concrete surfacing.
Assistant county administrator Brian Gordon said the project includes a pump which may have enough pressure to get the water upline or it may not and the grinder pump will be added. He said escalation on the project costs are anywhere from 3-6% over time. He said the county is planning to seek additional funding from the Thompson Foundation this fall in hopes of funding more of the Hoover Ridge project.
One of the most pressing issues is getting the new hockey ring and pathway lit so teams can play there in the coming months. A second appropriation approved by supervisors, $68,000 from the sale of surplus vehicles, will assist in that. The lighting costs are likely to close in on a $1 million price tag.
“This is one of those deals where the longer this goes, the worse it’s going to get [price wise] and the harder it’s going to take to get done,” Gordon said. “We are going to have to redouble our efforts to try to get Hoover Ridge completed as quickly as we can, as reasonably as we can.”
It’s possible the new hockey rink will bring in outside teams who often travel to play.
“I think you’re going to start seeing a lot of people come to us rather than us going to them,” Gordon said.
Supervisor Jud Buchanan said that could have a snowball effect for other businesses.
“Everything else in our area would benefit from people coming in,” he said.
Chairman Carty Yowell agreed. He said the two appropriations represent a community focus and reinvestment of county assets while supporting economic and community development goals.
“This directly benefits our families, our children and the community,” he said.
Once the splash pad is complete and the surfacing is done, smaller items like handrails, green space and lighting will be left to finish.
Supervisor Jim Jewett questioned if the county should pursue debt service to finish funding the project sooner. He said modeling and analytics could be studied to determine rates and the estimated payback costs and savings versus funding the project now or five years from now.
Gordon said county staff is working to obtain a hardline quote of the costs. With the quote, county administrator Jonathan Weakley said the supervisors could begin to discuss options with their financial consulting firm Davenport. The county currently has a $4 million note that was borrowed last fall and will soon be translated into a longterm, fixed rate.
