By Jean Cole

jean@athensnews-courier.com

Athens city leaders took the next step in building the new Jimmy Gill Park at the former Woodland Golf Course.

On Tuesday, City Council members authorized the mayor to contract with Morell Engineering Inc. for park engineering and architectural services. Morell would be paid $74,000 from the capital infrastructure fund for the work.

City officials decided to move Jimmy Gill Park from West Sanderfer Road in order to accommodate the new Toyota Boshoku AKI USA LLC automotive parts manufacturing plant. The plant plans to hire more than 400 workers. The company donated $300,000 to help defray the cost of moving the park, which is named after the late Councilman Jimmy Gill, who died March 27, 2016.

Last May, the city paid $1 million for the 60-acre Woodland Golf Course, which is located south of West Sanderfer Road and east of South Hine Street. The idea was to move the park there.

The decision to hire Morell was unanimous, with District 3 Council President Frank Travis, District 1 Councilman Chris Seibert, District 2 Councilman Harold Wales and District 5 Councilman Wayne Harper voting yes. There has been no District 4 councilman since Joseph Cannon was elected Limestone County License Commissioner last fall.

Public Works Director James Rich said the design should be finished in a few months and submitted to the Athens Planning Commission in May or June for a vote. It would then move to the City Council.

Plans are to build the park on a lower-lying section of the golf course property. The rest of the land would be sold to potential industries that want to move to Athens, and the land would have to be built up to accommodate them. The park will include a pavilion, basketball court and a multipurpose field, Rich said.

There could be other amenities, but that decision has not yet been made.