MOULTRIE, Ga. — A good quality of place is what the Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority will provide with a $3 million bond and SPLOST, Director Greg Icard said.

Icard got Colquitt County Commissioners’ approval to finalize the 15-year revenue bond via a resolution at their Feb. 18 meeting. The bond will potentially close on March 10.

Once the bond closes, construction on the MCCPRA’s projects will begin quickly. Preparations for them starts now, he said.

“We’re going to stage stuff and get what we can get done started so on day one, if everything’s finalized, we can move and get started,” he said. 

The MCCPRA met Feb. 19 to discuss the bids for its slew of projects going forward.

Largest costing and first to get started after bond is finalized is the Moss Farms Diving Well and Southwest Memorial Pool renovations including a splash pad, new filtration system and a bevy of updated facilities.

The project’s total cost is $3,509,762 and will be handled by JCI Contractors in Moultrie. The $3 million bond will handle majority of the costs and SPLOST will handle the rest.

“This is a moving date, but right now we’re hoping once the bond closes we can start the construction — a 218- or 216-day construction,” Icard said. “We hope to be done sooner than that, but that’s what the contract will show.”

It’s a mid-September finish date. Icard said he hopes that the season will permit the recreational facility’s use. 

Icard wants the MCCPRA’s facilities to be premier, following in line with his desire to create a good quality of place within the community.

“Quality of place is a new term that [says] ultimately it’s important to have a place that people can see themselves living and want to bring their children to do activities,” he said. “We want to have as many programs and options for people to provide opportunities for people to do other things than just sit at the house.”

The MCCPRA is fresh off finishing roof restorations for the A.F. Shaw and Meredith Gyms and a dugout restoration at Knuck McCrary Park. Both were finished about two weeks ago, Icard said.

Continuing the trend of restoring facilities, the MCCPRA board approved four bids and postponed one.

Among the approved are the Shaw Gym interior painting bid; the Knuck McCrary Park stair replacement bid (around $12,000); a pool maintenance bid for around $6,000 a year; and the R.D. Youth Center Replacement bid.

Icard said the replacements will consist of exterior painting and maintenance, new windows, a damaged side door, and more — an all-around beautification project. Its total cost will be around $21,000.

The board decided to postpone the Ryce Center drain bid after finding a new and cheaper solution to the issue. It was going to replace the drains with a heavy-duty metal but decided upon a heavy-duty plastic instead.

Now, it will need to bid it out again. SPLOST will also handle the costs of these projects.

The MCCPRA also welcomed a new city-appointed member to the board, Cornelius Ponder, a city councilman who fills former city councilwoman Angela Castellow’s seat.