Myer Creep Park Project Development

McLean County Recreation Survey Results:

In the summer of 2006, We Make Things Happen (WMTH) Corporation was hired by DLZ Engineering to assist in developing a master plan for a 218 acre park called Myer Creek jointly owned and maintained by McLean County and the City of Calhoun in McLean County Kentucky.

A preliminary meeting was held by the Judge Executive of McLean County at the Green River Area Development District (GRADD) in which representatives from the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, Owensboro Recreational Board, U.S. Corps of Engineers, DLZ Engineering, WMTH Corporation and members of Kentucky Recreation and Parks Society (KRPS), Kentucky's newly created Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority (KRTA), as well as cartographers from GRADD all attended.

Maps of Myer Creek Park were developed by the UK Extension Agent for McLean County and GRADD cartographers and distributed to those in attendance. The purpose of this meeting was to inform each of the organizations and groups of the initiative and to ask for their expertise and assistance in developing the master plan.

Three charettes were held over a 30-day period in which the public was invited to attend. Invitations were posted throughout the county, e-mailed to organizations who had expressed interest in the initiative and posted in the local newspaper. The Charettes were scheduled on September 21, October 3 and October 24th. Flyers were also distributed in both McLean County Middle and High Schools.

The first charette, held in the Middle School Library, introduced the concept and encouraged people to share with the team of DLZ and WMTH ideas they had for the 218 acres. A list was compiled by those in attendance. Tennis courts were listed as one of the priority needs yet the point was made that the high school had tennis courts that could meet the needs of the community if funds were made available to resurface them. It was decided that an inventory needed to be conducted of all recreational offerings throughout the county before recommendations for Myer Creek could be made.

Prior to the next charette, WMTH Corporation inventoried the recreational offerings throughout the county and UK Extension assisted in mapping each of these. The information was then posted on the website.

A second charette was held at the McLean County High School two weeks later. Fifteen people were in attendance. At this meeting, an overview of the current offerings throughout the county was shared. Each person was provided a listing of 25 recreational offerings complied at the previous charette and asked to rank their choices by preference. Couples tended to fill out just one survey between the two of them. Eight completed questionnaires were turned in. The results are as follows:

The top ten choices placed fairgrounds as first priority, league size baseball fields and walking trails as second priorities and skateboard park as third.