ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
A donation of 43 acres of land by Evelyn Randolph Alexander may lead to a recreation and park facility for Pulaski County in the coming years.
County officials have been studying the idea quietly for about a year, and the Community Design Assistance Center at Virginia Tech has completed a conceptual master plan for it.
"They started on it about a year ago. I'd been thinking about it before that," Alexander said.
The site is just south of Dublin and north of Newbern, accessible from Virginia 683 as well as the Pulaski Furniture Co.'s Dublin plant and the Fairview Acres neighborhood. Virginia 683 could be upgraded to include a bike lane for bicycle access to the park, and through bike traffic from U.S. 11 to Virginia 100.
Trenda Levitt from the Community Design Assistance Center, who worked on the plan with Linda Henden, outlined it Monday night to the county Board of Supervisors.
As envisioned in the plan, the proposed Randolph Recreation Park would include:
A swimming complex including a pool, park office, food concession, restrooms and a nonswimming water park play area;
Picnic shelters and tables;
Baseball fields which can also be used for Little League and adult softball;
A soccer field which can be used for football;
A walking track; a "tot lot" near one of the picnic shelters where parents can keep an eye on their toddlers;
A youth playground with climbing trees, rock walls, rope swings, sand hills and stepping logs for various age-group activities;
Activities for older citizens including horseshoe and shuffleboard courts, fitness walking trails, nature trails and sitting areas;
Enlarging an existing pond as a wildlife habitat for waterfowl and various mammals, as well as for possible winter ice skating and an arboretum for Virginia native plant species;
An agricultural demonstration area at the southwest corner of the site offering leased farming space, showing management practices such as contour farming, strip cropping and organic farming. This would also be a buffer area between the park and the Fairview Acres subdivision;
A reforestation and tree farm demonstration area, on a narrow strip between Fairview Acres and the Pulaski Furniture Co. plant at Dublin, raising commonly harvested tree species for profit and as an educational opportunity (alternatively, this strip could be sold to Pulaski Furniture and help provide revenue for park construction);
A natural area remaining in its woodland state, perhaps with an interpretive trail and outdoor classroom.
Levitt said the architectural style of the pool complex area would be modeled on that of Newbern's historic buildings. It would be enclosed by a wooden fence to control access and maintain a rustic character.
The estimated price tag for fulfilling all the plans is $3 million. Levitt said the donation of the site would be "a wonderful leverage tool" for matching funds from other sources. She said the state Department of Conservation and Recreation will have no funds available for such a project in the next year or so but "there are a lot of other funding opportunities for this park."
With its potential for environmental and historical education, she said, it would be a good candidate for foundation or corporate sponsors.
Alexander was interested in preserving the property's scenic qualities when she met with Terri Gregory, then director of the Pulaski County Office on Youth, to talk about it a year ago. Gregory set up a meeting with County Administrator Joe Morgan, Alexander said, "and then it grew from that."
Alexander remembered working on recreation for young people in Newbern, where she lives. The nearest places where they could go swimming in those days were Claytor Lake or Radford. Ballfields are widely scattered as well.
"This has been needed for a long time," she said. "I just hope I get to see it."
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB