Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson unveiled a plan this week to steer roughly $1.9 million toward park improvements across the city, in part by asking the City Council to redirect funding it had previously committed to a regional soccer complex.
The council had earlier backed a proposal from Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson to help build a soccer complex near the interchange of Interstates 10 and 65, pledging $1.5 million toward the project. Stimpson’s new plan would move a large share of that money instead into parks spread across every council district in the city.
“I think it’s incumbent upon the City Council to join with us in addressing the needs and the things that currently we have,” Stimpson said at a press conference held at Lyons Park, “and we’ve got to bring up to a standard that’s expected by our citizens.”
Among the projects outlined in the proposal: a new dog park at Public Safety Memorial Park, a modular tennis pro shop at Medal of Honor Park, and resurfaced tennis courts at Lyons Park, where Stimpson said declining court conditions had caused play to drop off in what was once a busy tennis destination.
Under the plan, the bulk of the funding — about $1.5 million — would come from reversing the council’s earlier commitment to the county soccer project, while the remaining roughly $400,000 would be drawn from residual capital already sitting in various city accounts.
Stimpson framed the initiative as part of a broader push to make Mobile’s neighborhoods more livable for residents of all ages, saying parks serve as connective tissue for the community. City officials acknowledged, however, that the projects included in this round represent only a small slice of a citywide parks backlog that could cost upwards of $10 million to fully address.
Not every council member was on board. Councilwoman Bess Rich said the city has not yet finalized a memorandum of understanding with Mobile County on funding for the soccer complex land, and she indicated she remains focused on seeing that project through despite a smaller proposed project for her district, a new tennis pro office at Medal of Honor Park.
“That would be nice, but it’s not anything that is a high priority,” Rich said. “I appreciate his thoughts and suggestions, but again, I’m staying focused with the soccer. It’s a high priority.”
Because only the mayor can propose amendments to the city budget, any changes still require council approval before funding can shift from the soccer complex commitment to the parks initiative. The proposal was expected to come before the council for further discussion in the weeks following the announcement.