If you build it, they will come…
Actually, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Department Director Tim Pigg said they’re already coming – to walk on a rough path outside the High Ridge Civic Center.
Improvements to that path are on the way after the Jefferson County Council voted unanimously June 26 to approve a $49,619 contract to build a walking and jogging path and parking lot near the new pavilion at the Civic Center, 2800 Community Lane.
Spencer Contracting Co. of Arnold was the lower of two bidders for the project.
Pigg said while the asphalt path, a quarter-mile loop around the Civic Center building, isn’t expected to be finished by August, it hasn’t stopped residents from making the most of what’s already there.
“After we added the Horrell Lane property (a 1.5-acre piece of land next to the Civic Center property) in 2019, people were walking around in that mole-infested field,” Pigg said. “We had a lot of people ask for a walking path and they kind of worked one out themselves, and last year, we put down a gravel base in preparation for this path, and that’s gotten a lot of use. It’s kind of a build it and they’ll come situation.
“I think once it’s finally done, it will get a lot of use. This will be a safe place for people to walk. There aren’t a lot of safe areas in that part of the county,” he said.
Pigg said the path will tie into planned improvements on High Ridge Boulevard, where sidewalks are to be installed.
Also at the June 26 meeting, the County Council voted unanimously to accept a $15,000 donation from the Jefferson County Parks Foundation to help pay for the improvements at the Civic Center.
“The donation (from the Parks Foundation) will be a big help,” Pigg said, adding that the balance will be drawn from the Parks Department budget.
Pigg said the path, for walkers, joggers and likely youth bicyclists, will be at least 8 feet wide.
“It will be the size of a regular track,” he said.
The project also includes a 12-foot wide driveway to a new parking lot next to the new pavilion.
“This will make the Civic Center property a full-service park,” Pigg said. “I don’t think we can get a lot more in there.”
In addition to the Civic Center building, which houses Parks Department programs, the site also includes a playground and pickleball courts.
“Those pickleball courts are getting used a lot,” Pigg said. “They’re wanting three more courts.”