Parks Commission member Regina Powell updated the city’s Board of Aldermen during its regular meeting on April 26 about upgrades taking place at Paige-Liberty Park in Fayette.

Powell and Hope Tinker presented a report from the Citizens Ad Hoc Committee for Paige-Liberty Park. The park has been the focus recently of several groups and citizens. On April 9, the Ad Hoc Committee was surprised by the donation of $50,000 from the Veterans United Foundation. On Saturday, April 23, several volunteers worked at the park to clear brush and prepare the park for the installation of new playground equipment, which will be installed on June 6 directly east of the existing swing set. The flower bed at the base of the Robert Paige Memorial Monument was cleaned up.

The city agreed to level the area where the swings and where the new playground equipment will sit to alleviate flooding. The city will also bring in Dig Rite to mark the area prior to installation. 

Several upgrades to the park have already taken place. Old tractor tires were donated and will be stacked for a play area near the small shelter house. Three grills have also been installed, which were procured by the Fayette Rotary Club. 

Powell asked the city to provide a new driveway to be placed at the southeast end of the parking lot. Public Works Director Danny Dougherty said the city would address the request. The city will also install two baby-changing stations in the restrooms. 

Powell also asked that a fence be built between the play area and the parking lot and that signs that prohibit the use of unauthorized vehicles be placed at the park.

Dougherty also noted that during last year’s budget process, the city set aside $14,000 specifically for playground equipment for Paige-Liberty Park. “I don’t see why the city can’t use some of that money to help with the playground,” he said.

Tinker said that money could be used for the ground cover among the playground equipment, and other money from the VUF grant could be then used to repair concrete floors in the shelter house. “Maybe this fence we’re talking about, too, could fall under the playground,” she said.

Council members voted unanimously to approve the use of the funds for the park. 

The city is also addressing electrical issues at the park. Someone vandalized the electrical box. “It burnt the whole service up,” Dougherty explained. Repair of the box is estimated to cost around $3,500. 

One reason for the expensive repair is due to the lights that illuminate the ball field. The bulbs from decades past are obsolete and can no longer be purchased. “We bought everything a company had leftover last year,” Dougherty explained.

Mayor Jeremy Dawson noted that the lights are not bright enough and the light poles are not tall enough to be functional for ball games.

Dougherty proposed switching the lights over to LED bulbs, which require far less electricity. That would allow a single-phase electrical box to be installed at a lower cost. 

“We’ll take that $3,500 and buy new LEDs, and then it’ll probably cost $1,500 to put a new service in,” Dougherty said. A survey will be completed to find out what can be done to switch the lighting to LED.

In the meantime, Dougherty said, the city can work on the electrical situation to at least provide lights to the bathrooms and shelter houses. He hopes to present cost estimates at the next city council meeting.

Fayette citizen Troy Chapman, a licensed electrician, has offered to donate labor and materials to help upgrade the electrical system. New light fixtures for the shelter houses have already been donated by the Fayette Rotary Club.

In addition to these upgrades, a group called “Fayette Together” hopes to add murals to the outside walls of the cement bathroom.