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City Working to Expand Muscadine Park - 03:37 PM - October , 2006
Pelahatchie officials are working to expand Muscadine Park to about 2.5 acres, which Mayor Knox Ross said would make it the largest downtown park in Rankin County.
"We were attracted to the property because the town owns property on both sides of it," Ross said. "It could become a beautiful facility over time."
The park is located across the street from Pelahatchie City Hall on U.S. 80. The land the city is interested in purchasing for $70,000 is nestled between the current park and the city's community center.
"We will be doubling the size of the park and connecting the park to the community center," Ross said. "There are a few structures on the land, but we plan to turn the smaller house on it into a museum that could house artifacts."
Muscadine Park is almost an acre now, and the available property is about the same size. City Clerk Bettye Massey said once the project is completed, the park should be about 2.5 acres.
Alderman Billy Watson said the park expansion would be extremely beneficial to the city for both adults and children.
"My wife and I are retired so we use the park a lot," Watson said. "We need a better and longer walking trail. It would also be something for the kids. I live on a dead-end street, and the kids play kickball in the street. With a larger park, there would be no chance of them getting run over."
Watson said he is looking forward to sharing the history of Pelahatchie with others at the future museum.
"Pelahatchie used to be a booming little town," Watson said. "With artifacts and other pieces of history, it might interest people to see how Pelahatchie used to be."
Watson said the expanded park would also be able to cater to larger crowds during festivals and other events.
"At the Muscadine festival, there were so many people here that some people had no place to stand," Watson said. "We could also add bleachers if we had more room so people could have places to sit."
Ross will be negotiating financial matters over the next few weeks, as well as allowing the property owners to clean the property. He said the city will have to borrow the $70,000 to purchase the land, but he is also looking into acquiring some sort of grant.
The property is owned by a Pelahatchie family.
Ross said it should take about two months for work to begin on the project. He said the project should take about two years to complete.
"Our ideas would make it a tremendous downtown park area that would be nice for years to come," Ross said.
(Reprinted from a Rankin Ledger article by Jamie Kemp)
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