Friday, October 17, will be dedicated to parks in Waycross.
That’s when the city will debut the renovated facilities at Elizabeth Street, Garlington and Bailey Street with separate celebrations throughout the afternoon. The program at Elizabeth Park kicks off the grand openings at noon followed by Garlington at 1 p.m. and Bailey Street at 2 p.m.
Mayor Michael-Angelo James will speak at each of the events. The city has invited other local and state officials to be a part of the afternoon, City manager Ulysses “Duke” Rayford said.
Work on the parks was completed late last month. Inspections at each were held in the last two weeks to remedy any outstanding issues before Friday’s grand openings.
Work began in March on each park and was handled by Macon-based contractor ICB Construction and Waycross Public Works and ESG personnel.
Each of the parks has received extensive improvements with new facilities and/or improvements to existing ones. For example, all have restroom facilities.
Garlington and Elizabeth now have splash pads and walking trails. The city’s first splash pad is in Pernell Roberts Memorial Park and was built with city and private funds three years ago.
Bailey Street has improvements to its existing athletic fields and basketball court to include new bleachers, fencing and dugouts for the softball field as well as a parking area and lighting. Pavillions will be upgraded to include all-weather TVs and other media items including one with the capability to show movies through a projection system.
A variety of the latest in playground equipment to meet American Disability Act (ADA) standards also is part of the improvement program. Fitness equipment also will be included.
As many of the existing playground items as possible will be refurbished and placed elsewhere in the city.
The upgrades to the three parks, averaging about $850,000 each, were funded primarily from a $2.2 million grant awarded to the city in early 2023. The money was part of a $225 million made available in late 2022 by Gov. Brian Kemp for recreation in targeted areas following the coronavirus pandemic.
