MOULTRIE, Ga. – Main Street Park has a new look as the Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority completes several renovations and updates to its facilities. 

“This is actually a project that was part of the 2019 SPLOST cycle that Parks and Recreation received,” according to Maggie Davidson, the executive director of the MCCPRA.

Prioritizing and balancing what projects to complete is the MCCPRA’s main focus.

She added, “It’s just trying to prioritize and balance what we do at certain times because that was a 2019 project, but you [have] to accumulate the money with SPLOST.” 

The Main Street Park currently has a quarter-mile walking trail with benches and picnic tables with shelter. Its largest upgrade is a large shading structure above the playground. 

“We had to upgrade our cameras, and then we added fans under the pavilion,” Davidson said in an interview Tuesday.

Additional benches are planned to be added around the park as well. 

The MCCPRA is planning the next stages of what needs to be done at the park, such as potentially installing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approved equipment. 

“We’ve got some area nonprofits [that] are wanting to partner with us to try to [add] some ADA compliant equipment, [and] try to make the park a little bit more accessible,” Davidson said.

She hopes the park will be able to reopen either this weekend or at the beginning of next week. 

Before the park can reopen, MCCPRA must ensure there is enough kid-safe mulch to add to the playground. 

“The way our mulch works [is] all of our playground equipment has to be certified, so even the mulch has to come with a certificate that says it’s safe for kids,” Davidson explained. “We [have] to make sure we [have] enough mulch, at least to keep it safe until we can get our big load in.”

Other facilities that are undergoing updates include Southwest Memorial Pool, Jim Buck Goff Recreation Complex, Tommy Meredith Gym, Tom White Linear Park, Shaw Gymnasium and the Lynda Baxter Moseley Tennis Complex.

To allow more efficient cleaning, the Southwest Memorial Pool bathhouse and the Jim Buck Goff Recreation Complex are undergoing bathroom floor renovations.

A painting project and bathroom renovation is being completed at the Tommy Meredith Gym. Davidson said the Tommy Meredith Gym projects should be completed in time for basketball season.

A resurfacing project and a court conversion at Lynda Baxter Moseley Tennis Complex will start soon. The tennis court conversion will transform courts five and six into five pickleball courts.

The Shaw Gymnasium, Northwest Pool & Kiddie Pool and the bike trail at Tom White Linear Park will also have some changes. 

“We just put out bids for tree removal on the bike trail, and we’re starting a bridge replacement on the bike trail,” Davidson said. “At Shaw Gym, we’ve got a new air conditioner ordered, and we are going into the bid process on that flooring. The pools at Northwest will be getting new Marcite hopefully in time to open up next summer.” 

The MCCPRA is actively refraining from facility closures. 

“We’re just trying to kind of let all the facilities work together to be able to keep things closed as least as possible,” she said. 

Davidson is excited for renovations, but she’s ready to refocus on strengthening MCCPRA and providing a quality program.

“We really want to get more people involved in our community, [and] get more activities going for adults and kids,” she said. 

To find more information about the MCCPRA, please visit www.mccpra.com.