Shelby County Manager Alex Dudchock
Shelby County Manager Alex Dudchock is addressing the master plan for Oak Mountain State Park at public meetings in order to gain feedback from the community. Photo by Jessa Pease.
There is only one place in Shelby County where residents can find wakeboarding, a trail through the treetops, horseback riding and golf: Oak Mountain State Park.
With the use of lodging tax revenues, the Shelby County Commission has been improving the assets in park through various projects and renovations, but now they want input from the community.
“We have crews there working on specific projects,” said County Manager Alex Dudchock. “Then we get out, they run it, operate it and do a great job with it. The attendance has been growing and the amenities have been improving, but we still have a long way to go.”
The roadmap to those improvements is a master plan for Oak Mountain that the Shelby County Commission, the City of Pelham and the director of state parks have been working on together. While keeping conservation in mind, those entities are gathering input from stakeholders, frequent visitors to the park and people who are thinking of visiting the park.
If what people want is currently in place, Dudchock said he wants to know how they can they improve it. He also wants to know what people have enjoyed at other parks that they might like to see at Oak Mountain.
“There is endless input,” Dudchock said. “If you have been to a park anywhere in the nation, and you liked amenity there, share it with us. It may very well be able to fit at Oak Mountain State Park.”
To gather that information, the Shelby County Commission has set up a survey on its website. As of Nov. 25, Dudchock said they had gathered about 700 responses, but he would like to see that number at 7,000. Dudchock has also set up kiosks at various public gathers, such as the Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce’s Prayer Breakfast, so that residents can supply feedback that way.
The survey became available Nov. 17 and will remain up until Jan. 17. Chad Scroggins, the chief development officer, said the process would take two months to complete, and they will also be awarding 20 annual passes to individuals who participate in the survey.
“We really have a gem to be in a metro area and have 10,000 acres that’s in this state that we can go and actively use,” Scroggins said. “There are many amenities that are already there.”
To take the Oak Mountain State Park Survey, visit discovershelby.com/index.aspx?NID=272. For more information about the park, visit alapark.com/oakmountain.
Current park projects
- Playground. Installation for a playground near the South Trail Head began Dec. 1.
- Archery Range. The parking lot for a new archery range has been built, and the 3D targets need to be installed. This project should be complete in January.
- Bike Lane Extensions. Construction should begin for a bike lane extension on the road that runs through the park, John Findely Drive, in January. There are currently bike lanes from the entrance of the park to the North Trailhead; this extension will run across the dam to Highway 119.
