MOORESVILLE — The Mooresville Parks and Recreation District is continuing to work through its improvement project.

During the Mooresville Parks Board meeting on March 11, board member Mark Taylor asked when the park expects to have hard figures for the project.

According to Mooresville Parks Superintendent Phil Cornelius, the scoping period for the project can last anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Meyer Najem, which was awarded the contract to help the department on the project at the board’s February meeting, will be working with the department to determine what the updates at Pioneer Park will look like.

“Hopefully, it comes back and it’s right were we want it,” Cornelius said, adding that the department should have that information within the next month or two.

He later noted that he expects to have the first preliminary budget for the project in April.

The scoping period is expected to end sometime in May.

According to Cornelius, Meyer Najem would be the construction management firm and will be able to hire other contractors to get the work done as needed, if it is selected as the final project firm.

“So we will call Meyer Najem if we have questions about X,” Cornelius noted.

Taylor also asked if the park would need to rent a trailer to use as a temporary office during the project.

Cornelius said options for a temporary park office would be to use either the planned event center at Pioneer Park, the new maintenance facility or use a hybrid approach at the Mooresville Government Center.

He is hoping that the park can break ground on the project sometime in either May or June.

Department reports

During the meeting, the board selected three of its members to serve on a steering committee for the five-year park master plan project.

The three members selected for the steering committee were Matt Saner, BJ Bungard and Brent Callahan, with Taylor serving as an alternative member.

Cornelius told the board that he and assistant superintendent Keelan Simpson would begin biweekly meetings with Troyer Groups to start discussing the master plan update.

Cornelius told the board that Mooresville schools have opened bidding for the 2024-2026 latch key programs.

Mooresville parks offer the RECU program, which was given a favorable recommendation to the school board before its March 12 meeting.

The new electric sign has been installed at Pioneer Park and staff at the park has been trained on how to use it.

The sign can be updated using both a mobile or desktop application.

For the downtown concert series, Ralph & Ava’s and Zydecco’s have agreed to partner with the parks for this year’s concerts at Bicentennial Park in downtown Mooresville.

According to Cornelius, the two restaurants will come up with special menu items and drinks for the concerts.

Mooresville parks is also looking for a new recreation coordinator after the last coordinator left for another park system.

Cornelius also noted that summer hiring has kicked off for the upcoming season. The department is hoping to hire 32 lifeguards, and has hired 14 as of March 11. The department has hired nine cashiers out of 25 needed and 18 of the 24 needed camp staffers.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published March 21, 2024 in The Morgan County Correspondent