By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
An idea that was formally proposed seven years ago is becoming a reality with construction underway on an almost complete overhaul of American Legion Park, which opened along Happy Valley Road in Glasgow in 1975.
The pool that was demolished in the past few months and, as of Wednesday, is filled with dirt opened in 1976.
Matt London, chairman of the board of directors of Barren Inc., in kicking off a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday to celebrate the revamp, said that many people who grew up here spent a lot of time at that park.
“It looks like this 12 acres is going to be put to great use,” he said.
After introducing a host of local government officials, he turned over the microphone to Pat Hoagland, vice president of Brandstetter Carroll, the firm that developed the design for the park.
Hoagland has been intimately involved with creating first an overall parks and recreation master plan for the city, the process for which began seven years ago, and then more recently, a specific plan for American Legion Park, which was finalized and published by Glasgow News 1 in March.
He said that in gathering feedback for the master plan, “we heard very strongly at that time that a new pool and updating this park was a high priority for everybody.”
Hoagland said that Eddie Furlong, director of the Glasgow Parks and Recreation Department, and his staff have been working to implement that master plan, as is evidenced by new shelters, playgrounds and other facilities at other parks.
“But this was the big one that had to finally get the leadership in place and the funding in place to develop, so through Mayor [Henry] Royce’s leadership and council’s leadership, [they] were able to put the funds together to implement a master plan for this individual park and then to develop plans and specifications and then get a bid out to this point,” he said.
This illustration shows the plan for American Legion Park created by Brandstetter Carroll with input from city officials that was finalized in March 2024. To view a PDF version of the image that can be enlarged to better see the various elements, click here.
He expressed appreciation for all the companies who have had a hand in the process, from the surveyors and engineers to the earth movement, grading and structural engineers.
“It took a whole team of people to get the details worked out on this park. It’s going to be very exciting as you can see from the plan. A new pool is going to be on top of the hill. The old one is gone, filled in, but this will be pickleball courts and a restroom building, for now. There’ll be a trail throughout the entire park that’s handicapped accessible, less than 5 percent slope, and then there’s other things to come in the future as well,” Hoagland said, adding that he hoped the city could get the funds together to add the next phase of features. Those are to include a small dog park, a small and a large shelter near there, in the vicinity between the four pickleball courts and the Glasgow Police Department next door; an outdoor fitness adjacent to the pickleball courts; a basketball court sort of midway up the hill next to existing playground equipment that is remaining; and a shelter with bathrooms and another playground area at the top right of the hill.
The phase for which construction has begun is to include not just a pool, per se, but an aquatic center with zero-depth entry and several other features, with a poolhouse/clubhouse facility at the top of the hill; the pickleball courts and adjacent bathrooms and parking; a parking lot at the midway playground, adjacent to where the basketball court will be; the trail; and infrastructure for the future elements.
London said Hoagland had told him earlier that, eventually, there would be more going on at that park than at a lot of parks that are larger in size.
“And I think that’s a great testament to the planning that has gone into this and the input that has gone into it as well,” London said before bringing Royse to the microphone.
The mayor introduced a few other people that hadn’t been previously mentioned.
“I don’t want to leave people out, because, you know, this is so exciting for everybody that lives in the city and everybody that works for the city, because I’m here to tell you, you are witnessing today a dream come true. This has been needed to happen for the longest time. I don’t know how many times, Eddie, how many times has this pool been repaired?”
“Too many,” Furlong said, chuckling.
“How many years over life expectancy did this pool go?” Royse asked, somewhat rhetorically, adding that Hoagland was shaking his head to that question. “It’s been a really – some of the repairs that have had to be done to keep this pool operational has been kind of like miraculous, but it’s time to quit messing around with what we had and move forward.”
He again expressed appreciation for all who have played a role in bringing the project this far.
“If you go to seminars and you talk about cities and the growth of cities, you wind up hearing that the most important thing in developing city growth is quality of life. Quality of life. And the No. 1 thing that keeps coming up on any surveys is the situation with our pool out here.”
He said the former pool facility was certainly a negative for the quality of life here.
“We had to get serious and do it,” the mayor said.
He said he’s had many people ask him why the pool was closed this summer, and it was because this kind of work couldn’t be done with people there using the facility.
“The dream is coming true,” Royse said. “A lot of people have been involved in this, people who were on the council years before, people who were mayors and worked for the city before, but we’re here, and I’m excited about it and I think a whole lot of people in our community are, too, because it’s a big day.”
A ceremonial groundbreaking then took place, and several of the dozens in attendance lingered and chatted for a while before slowly making their way out of the park.
When this current phase is completed in 2025, its cost, including demolition and preparatory work, will have been roughly $10 million, Furlong said later.
When asked how long it will be before the next phase can happen, he said, rubbing his fingers together to indicate money, “it depends how much of this they want to turn loose of for next year.”
Hoagland told GN1 later* that his estimate to get the rest of the elements completed is roughly $1.3 million.
*NOTE: This report has been updated since its original publication.
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