Within the next year, Fayette

County should have a better idea of its future recreational needs.

That's because the Fayette

County Commission approved spending just over $35,000 for a comprehensive

study of the county's recreational facilities and needs during last weeks

County Commission meeting.

Additionally, the study will

give a needs assessment or the newly-acquired park land in the northern

part of the county.

Recreation is one of the big

draws for residents moving to the county and chairman Greg Dunn says he

wants to make sure the study is done objectively and does not slant towards

any one group of sports fans.

"We don't need a lot of

lobbying," he said.

Louis Downer, who represented

the winning firm, ALDH & Associates, said he planned to get as much

data as possible from residents. He plans to hold public meetings to gauge

the public's interest for various proposals and also conduct phone surveys.

When pressed for more information

from Commissioner Linda Wells, Downer said the company would conduct 1,000

phone interviews and also conduct surveys outside various community events,

such as the Recreation Department's monthly yard sale.

But, he added, the study would

not make recommendations where future recreation sites should be built.

"That's another whole

issue,' he said.

The commissioners also emphasized

the bulk of the study was to concentrate on future recreational needs,

and not just the new park.

"I've only driven by the

site of the park to get a feel for it. We won't do anything until the

entire study is completed," he said.

Downer does plan to pursue

an aggressive schedule in getting the survey completed. By April 8, he

wants to meet with county officials to formalize the questions used in

the phone survey. The actual survey will take two weeks to complete and

he plans to be ready to start designing the new park by June 21.

Wells was clear in what she

did not want to see when the survey was completed.

"Last time, we got an

$11 million plan. We don't want that."

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