Parks board recaps Millstone, discusses setback on Armory Park project

Oct. 6—Blake Vickers

The Richmond Parks Board recapped last weekend's Millstone Festival and gave updates on several ongoing projects during their Oct. 4 meeting.

The board said they were thrilled with the turnout at the festival. Richmond Parks and Recreation Director Erin Moore estimated between 12,000 to 15,000 visitors passed through the festival on Saturday. She noted Eastern Kentucky University held their family weekend at the same time as the festival and claimed it likely added to the large crowds.

Moore praised the parks department staff and highlighted the work staff member did the night before the festival.

"They took the time to take every number for every booth and taped it to the street. They did a great job of putting it all together and making sure we knew what we were doing," Moore said.

The festival was so busy that three vendors sold out of food before 3 p.m. on Saturday, Moore added.

According to Richmond Parks Assistant Programming Coordinator Lauren Kilburn, Dreaming Creek Brewery's profits from this year's festival were 15% higher than last year.

The board also gave updates on the Armory Park and Goggins Lane Park projects.

According to Richmond City Manager Rob Minerich, bids were taken out on Armory Park on Sept. 15 and cost projections were higher than expected.

"We had two figures and came in at half- a-million dollars over what we budgeted, and $750,000 over what the engineering estimate was," Minerich said. "I've got to go to the city commission and see if they want to reappropriate money to do the project, or if they want to try to rebid it in the spring."

Minerich said these higher costs are coming in across the board on construction projects.

"Materials are up — at one point they were up 48%. Interest rates on the other side for financing have doubled," he said.

The two bidders for the project are Devere Construction on Omni Commercial. The project is being paid for by ARPA funding.

A meeting was held this week finalizing the concept on the Goggins Lane Park — with programming being worked on for shelters, restrooms, and other facilities.

At the moment, Minerich said two phases are planned for the project. Phase one will include the construction of soccer fields, Kit Carson historical site, a pavilion with concession restrooms, parking, and a maintenance building located on the corner of the Tates Creek and Goggins' part of the property.

Youth football will be moved from Lake Reba to the new park during phase two.

Bidding packages will be put out for the Goggins Lane park in the spring 2023, but Minerich noted the waters will have to be tested for the bids due to what he called "the grim look of the economy."

Parks board member Dan McBride noted that communities working on parks projects in the surrounding area are facing the same challenges as Richmond.

Minerich added that Richmond is still ahead of Lexington on some of their current park projects.

Moore gave a positive update on a grant that will be used to purchase new fitness equipment for Lake Reba.

"Good news, the deadline for the national fitness campaign was Sept. 30. We got the approval letter from the land and water conservation fund that we were approved... We got it all taken care of, we got a purchase order in September that will allow us to purchase the exercise equipment in October," Moore said.

There will be nine different stations for the equipment. Each will feature a scannable QR code that informs users what they can do at the station. It will be handicap accessible.

The stations will be placed between walking trails and the golf course at Lake Reba.

The grants used to fund the project consists of a $30,000 grant from the National Fitness Campaign and a $90,000 match from the Land and Water Conservation fund.

Playground equipment for the E.C. Million Park has been shipped. The delivery date and installation times have yet to be determined.

Paradise Cove is receiving some updates during this off-season. The main play structure is being painted and the beach area entrance is being painted with a non-slick texture.

Through the end of October, Adventure Falls will be opened on Saturdays and Sundays before going into the off-season.

The next parks board meeting will be held on Nov. 8.

Other business:

The Halloween Hoedown will return to Main Street on Thursday, Oct. 27. The Parks Department has partnered with EKU Recreation for the event, which will feature several musical acts and over 60 vendors.

The Christmas Parade will be Friday, Dec. 2.

The Holiday Happening will be Saturday, Dec. 3.