City Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to fund a new project replacing the picnic structure in Courier Field’s south end.
Assistant City Manager Bill McDaniel told the commission rust had begun to overtake the 18-year-old shelter in Courier Field, home to the city’s veterans monument, and would need to be replaced.
“This is a case of need creating opportunity,” McDaniel said.
The existing shelter was built in 1999. Since then, the city has made a number of upgrades to the park including the creation of the veteran monument and a gazebo at the north end which has become the staging area for Plant City’s Veterans Day and Memorial Day celebrations.
McDaniel said original plans for the park left an area open for another event shelter.The poor condition of the existing shelter, he said, allows the city an opportunity to remove and replace it with one that matches the upgraded gazebo at the north end, in the location the city envisioned a shelter. The new gazebo will be located just east of the monument and will connect to the existing sidewalk. The old shelter and picnic area will be torn down but the adjacent restrooms will remain.
McDaniel and Recreation and Parks Director Jack Holland worked closely with the Plant City Armed Forces Memorials Foundation to determine what to do with the shelter, foundation board member Jennifer Closshey said. She said much consideration was given to the design and location, ultimately choosing the selected location and matching aesthetics.
The city allocated $120,000 for the project, though it is expected to cost about $101,000. The money was moved from completed or nearly completed Recreation and Parks projects that came in under budget.
The new gazebo will be slightly larger than the one at the park’s north end, renderings show.
“We think that it’s a very viable project and one that is needed to keep the high quality we have for our community,” Interim City Manager Kim Leinbach said.
Rep Services, Inc. has been tapped to demolish the existing structure and install the new one, piggybacking off a contract the company has with Clay County. Holland said the new gazebo should be completed by early April.