Stubbs Park needs a pond

Last November, voters in Dublin and Laurens County re-approved the SPLOST, a countywide penny sales tax that pays for capital projects and infrastructure improvements such as roads, bridges and public buildings. The spending plan includes $4.7 million earmarked for the city of Dublin’s masterplan for imporving its parks citywide.

Studies for the masterplan highlighted numerous needs and safety concerns at all the city’s neighborhood parks, and some of the much-needed upgrades  already have begun, with new playground equipment replacing some of the old and outdated play structures. But the masterplan’s main feature, and rightly so, is the continued expansion and rehab of Stubbs Park. More than $2 million already has been spent reconfiguring traffic around Stubbs to make the area more pedestrian-friendly, including closing a city street and installing a roundabout at Moore Street and Claxton Dairy Road.

The project has expanded Stubbs Park to 23 acres, and sidewalks and lighting have been installed. Despite that progress, the real work might have just begun as the Dublin City Council must decide how to proceed, especially now that the park’s proposed design has been questioned by residents. 

A number of them raised legitimate concerns last week at a public hearing on the two proposed concepts – one that tears down the park’s old gym and a second option that keeps the gym. They spoke strongly in favor of keeping and renovating the gym, which also doubles as a polling place for elections. However, there was another feature that drew much objection – a proposed pond that is included in both concepts. 

The main concern was about safety, namely the park’s proximity to nearby public housing and the children who live there, and that the pond would increase liability for the city. We agree public safety should be a priority, but almost everything at a park presents a liability, from slides and see saws to skateboard ramps. A pond will have its benefits, as well. Both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly, ponds provide a peaceful feature for residents, support wildlife and provide a “natural” holding tank for rainwater and runoff. 

As for the gym, both of the designs include plans to build a new and improved activities center. Should the city council decide the area needs a gym, build a new one nearby, off the park property. It will cost about as much to renovate. Voting could be moved to the Katherine W. Gray Resource Center. With First AB Church also serving as a polling place, the move would bring the polls conveniently closer to more Southside voters.

Stubbs Park is a true jewel for the Emerald City. Not many cities our size can boast of a centrally located park of the size and scope that Stubbs can be. The renovated park will offer a significant quality-of-life improvement for the Dublin area and should only aid in the city’s efforts to revitalize the surrounding  neighborhood.

Dublin has one chance to redo Stubbs Park, and we should redo it right. There’s no reason why, on a somewhat smaller scale, Stubbs can’t be to Dublin what Piedmont Park is to Atlanta or Central Park is to New York.

Those parks have a pond, and Stubbs should, too.