The Bangs City Council will meet with South West Architects, Inc., owner Jeff Heffelfinger in March and give him and his firm formal direction as to the proposed Community Events Center for the City of Bangs.
The latest rendering (shown above) presented to City officials based on 18 months of planning would give the citizens of Bangs a completely recreated baseball and softball complex at the existing city ballpark location on the south edge of town, according to Mayor Eric Bishop.
“The architects will present the council cost estimates or expected budgets for the project and give us the ability to see what components to move forward with as a first phase and what components to make part of future phases,” said Bishop. “The council and Bangs Economic Development Corporation have agreed to swap land on the northeast corner of town near Dollar General to make a place for the Community Events Center, and the existing baseball fields give us another option. We’ve asked the architects to design a way for us to get the maximum bang for the taxpayers’ buck with whatever we end up doing.”
Aside from location, Bishop said that this project is an important quality of life issue for Bangs residents.
“This is about a better quality of life for present and future generations in our little town, and any positive and achievable project with which the council decides to move forward will contribute to that regardless of where it is built,” he said.
Bishop said the street and utility infrastructure at the existing ball fields lends itself to something happening sooner.
“At the moment there is no sewer or streets at the location across from the Dollar General, and while we have applied for a Community Development Block Grant that will improve our sewer lines in that corner of town. It is a competitive grant and if we receive it the process of getting the work completed would likely run into 2015,” he said. “And then we’d still need a road to get back to that proposed location.
Initial drawings show that the center could feature ball fields, soccer fields, a basketball court, aquatic center, and playgrounds.
“I’m just thrilled to be having this conversation, and that we are on the verge of making further inroads with the quality of life Bangs offers,” Bishop said. “We have a council that, even though we don’t see eye to eye on every little issue and even some big ones, we have been able to take a vision and put it on paper. Now we are about to make it real.”
Pictured above is a rendering of the proposed center. To view the larger rendering, click here.
