LYNN HAVEN — The Lynn Haven City Commission presented its vision for Porter Park on Tuesday.
“We want this to one of, if not the best, waterfront park in the county,” City Manager Joel Schubert said.
Improvements for the park include: rebuilt seawalls, boat ramps, pavilions, benches and many new parking spaces, enough to keep people from driving up on residents’ yards on their way to the park. Traffic and parking were the main resident complaints and Schubert believes traffic will be smoother because parking spaces will be more bountiful.
The commission approved the first part of the plan, $79,500 for engineering costs. The county contributed $95,000 for the park and that money will pay for the engineering. Porter Park has advanced in the running for $500,000 worth of RESTORE funding and was one of only two projects that received 9-out-of-9 votes from the committee.
“I’m thankful that the county recognizes the impact of the park beyond Lynn Haven,” Commissioner Rodney Friend said. “It’s already a highly utilized area. You should see at the beginning of snapper season.”
Schubert showed a diagram of an improved park but added that any proposal is temporary, likely to change with engineering.
“This will come back in bits and pieces,” he said.
In other action, Schubert also presented a plan for economic development — sell city properties.
The commission approved two of the more valuable parcels to be sold: one commercial lot off State 77 and another residential at the corner of Tennessee Avenue and Fourth Street.
“There is no reason the city needs to have 77 street frontage,” Schubert said.
Friend said the commercial property, with its proximity to a recently vacated liquor store, is especially valuable if both properties were considered together.
“That will be a prime location,” Friend said.
Schubert plans to consider various options for 10 other city-owned properties later in the year.