Davis Park Gets $230,000 Makeover

Posted on: Aug 20th, 2012 | News and Announcements

At one time a park cobbled together out of spare parts and goodwill, Davis Park in Citronelle will unveil its new makeover at a ribbon-cutting set for 11:30 a.m. Monday, August 20 at the park playground. The makeover is the product of a partnership between the city and the Mobile County Commission, which used a $230,000 block grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant funded a new playground and bathroom facilities, sidewalks, upgrades to an existing meeting fellowship hall and, for the first time, drinking fountains on park grounds. ?We had a captive audience of enthusiastic park users who tolerated facilities in obvious disrepair and who deserved better,? said Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. ?The park now is among many assets Citronelle can make available to its citizens.? Citronelle Mayor Loretta Presnell and Councilman Joe Beaty literally hit the streets for the cause, surveying home-to-home in the area for five months to establish that the park qualified for the low- and moderate-income requirement of the grant. ?I was heartbroken because I wanted more for the kids,? said Presnell. ?I was troubled by the fact that it was so run-down.? Adults also use the park, where they play baseball on a lighted field and use the basketball court. There also is a summer program there, where retired adults teach kids to read and play games with the children. The park was built in the 1960?s, the land donated by a local plumber, Tellie Davis, who deeded the property to the city of Citronelle. -30-