Town hall meetings set for Hoover Parks and Public Spaces Plan

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The city of Hoover this week and next week is holding a series of town hall meetings to get public input for a new Parks and Public Spaces Plan that is in development.

The plan will be used to create a vision to help guide decision making in the city over the next 15-20 years regarding recreational programming, parks and public spaces, and blueways, greenways and trails.

The town hall meetings are scheduled for:

  • Monday, May 8: Shades Crest Baptist Church
  • Tuesday, May 9: Spain Park High School Library
  • Thursday, May 11: Finley Center at Hoover Metropolitan Complex
  • Tuesday, May 16: Virtual town hall meeting at futurehoover.com

Each meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. The in-person meetings will be set up as a walk-through interactive exhibit, with displays giving information about the various parts of the plan and opportunities to provide feedback on the displays.

Representatives from the city will be on site as well to answer questions, talk about the plan and have conversations with people about what they would like to see regarding the focus topics, said Mindy Wyatt, a strategic analyst for the city who is serving as the project manager for the plan.

There won’t be a formal presentation at the in-person meetings, but the virtual town hall meeting will have more of a presentation, but still with opportunities for input and feedback, Wyatt said.

City staff kicked off the public input portion of the plan by setting the exhibit up at Celebrate Hoover Day at Veterans Park on April 29. An estimated 500 people stopped by the tent to view the displays and/or give input, Wyatt said.

Staff also set up the exhibit at Shades Mountain Park this past Saturday and will be at 3167 Star Lake Drive at Star Lake Park this Thursday, May 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during a “meet me at the park” event.

Regarding blueways, greenways and trails, Hoover is in a unique position with 20 miles of the Cahaba River — the most biodiverse river in the country — running through the city, Wyatt said. There are opportunities to provide people more access to the river so they can view and use it in a responsible manner, she said.

City officials also are interested in expanding the non-motorized paths in the city and connecting neighborhoods with other neighborhoods, commercial areas, parks and other amenities, as well as connecting trails and greenways in Hoover with those in other nearby communities.

City officials want to know what people think about existing parks, public spaces and recreational opportunities, as well as find out what is missing that they would like to see in Hoover, Wyatt said.

Some groups, such as a group pushing for construction of a skate park in Hoover, are actively encouraging people to advocate for that at the town hall meetings and in the online survey the city is conducting.

City officials also are targeting meetings with particular groups to solicit feedback, including trail groups, mountain bike groups, historical groups, the Lakeshore Foundation, environmental protection groups such as the Cahaba River Society, Friends of Shades Mountain and Freshwater Land Trust, and other interested parties such as Shelby County and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, Wyatt said.

City staff want to hear not just from residents of Hoover, but anybody who has an interest in the city, including businesses, she said. Recreational opportunities are a big part of economic development because more businesses are looking for places where their employees can have good access to parks, public spaces and recreational programming, she said.

“We’re trying to be very intentional about engaging folks as best we can,” she said. “We can’t hear the voice of the community without input from the community, so tell us what you think.”

To learn more about the Parks and Public Spaces plan, go to futurehoover.com.

To take the survey regarding parks and public spaces, go to hooverparksurvey.org/public.