City of Scottsboro, Alabama - Jackson County Economic

City of Scottsboro, Alabama
Scottsboro, Alabama — Greenspace Plan
In 2014, the Jackson County Economic Development Authority and other community leaders participated in Tennessee Valley Authority’s “Valley Sustainable Communities Program” and from that, this plan was developed to review and enhance
the City of Scottsboro’s goals for optimizing the use of greenspace owned by the
city. This plan may serve as a supplement to Scottsboro Strategic Plan: A 2020
Vision developed in February 2004 by the Scottsboro Planning Commission. The
following excerpt from that strategic plan lists the land use and environment goals
adopted by the city:
Goal — To provide sufficient land in suitable and convenient locations to accommodate the community's expected growth in housing, economic and commercial
development, public facilities, and recreation and open space over the next twenty
years.
Goal — To encourage mixed-use development in instances where adjacent uses
are compatible so as to reduce reliance on automobiles for short trips within the
community.
Goal — To encourage infill development in areas currently served by most public
facilities.
Goal — To discourage development in areas with significant limitations, such as
those posed by floodplains and, unless sewer is available, where soil percolation
characteristics limit the use of septic tanks.
The following pages provide an inventory of city-owned property, a summary of
how the City of Scottsboro has worked steadily toward the above goals during the
past ten years, and the plans for the development and maintenance of the land.
The city has partnered with Jackson County, TVA, and other government entities
to maintain and improve the greenspace areas. In addition, the city is currently
constructing a $1.7-million frontage road adjacent to Highway 72 to encourage
commercial development along the Highway 72 corridor. Grant opportunities continue to be sought to fund projects designed to promote greenspace protection
and restoration in the community.
For more information, please contact Scottsboro City Hall at 256-912-0512 or
Jackson County Economic Development Authority at 256-574-1331.
The City of Scottsboro has been designated a Tree City USA for
the past 29 years. The Scottsboro Tree Commission and the
Scottsboro Beautification Council both do an excellent job of
highlighting the natural beauty of our community. The city will
continue working with them as we utilize our natural resources
and implement our greenspace plan.
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Scottsboro, Alabama — Greenspace Inventory
Greenspace Owned by the City of Scottsboro
Goose Pond Colony Resort ........................................................................................ 4
Goose Pond Colony Plantation ................................................................................... 5
Wallace Gross Park ................................................................................................... 6
Bynum Park .............................................................................................................. 7
City Park .................................................................................................................. 8
King Caldwell Park .................................................................................................... 9
Veterans Park ......................................................................................................... 10
Recreational Complex (Rec-Com) ............................................................................. 11
Downtown Scottsboro ............................................................................................. 12
Carver Park ............................................................................................................ 13
Ben Sanford Center................................................................................................. 14
Maple Street ........................................................................................................... 15
Lakeview Shores Waterfront Lot .............................................................................. 16
Scottsboro Trails ..................................................................................................... 17
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Goose Pond Colony Resort
461 Acres
Goose Pond Colony Resort opened in the late 1960’s and is located on the banks of the
Tennessee River's beautiful Lake Guntersville and nestled into the picturesque Cumberland Mountains and owned by the City of Scottsboro. The resort is a multi-use facility
with two beautiful 18-hole championship golf courses, lakeside cottages, lodge, waterfront campground, full service marina, meeting facilities, swimming pool, beach area, and
The Docks Restaurant. Goose Pond Colony is located at the heart of the bass fishing
“Miracle Mile” and is recognized as one of the top fishing destinations in the country. The
Lake Course is nationally known as a George-Cobb-designed golf course that hosts collegiate tournaments as well as eight national championships. A walking trail was built at
the resort in the 1990’s and is listed as a “National Recreation Trail” in the National Trails
System by the United States Department of the Interior.
The City of Scottsboro is committed to continually maintaining and enhancing Goose Pond
Colony Resort to be enjoyed by residents and tourists for many years to come.
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In the past year, with help from TVA, the fishing tournament dock was replaced to
make it handicapped-accessible by upgrading the sidewalks and access to the dock,
and adding rails and a lift to improve accessibility to the public.
A multi-year project is ongoing that will cost just under $500,000 to connect all
campsites to the city sewer system. Currently 70% of all campsites are on a sewer
system.
New playground equipment and a basketball court were added to the campground.
In Spring 2014, a $450,000 renovation of all 11 cottages was completed. They were
updated with modern amenities including big screen TVs and wireless internet.
A bathhouse and laundry facility were recently built at the marina for the use of transient boaters who pass through the area while cruising the Tennessee River.
A multi-year multi-million-dollar project recently began to add 136 new slips in the
marina. The first phase will include dredging of the area for the new marina, dredging
the entry channel to the main channel, building 40 new slips, building the parking lot
for the completed new marina, as well as adding infrastructure to support the completed marina.
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Goose Pond Colony Plantation
229 Acres
Goose Pond Colony Plantation is part of Goose Pond Colony Resort and is located just a
short drive from the main resort complex. The Plantation Golf Course was built in the mid
1990’s and is a links style course. It was recently renovated with an investment of
$150,000 and is now a “Tee It Forward” golf course making it a more enjoyable experience for golfers of any level and is considered the top greens in North Alabama. The largest improvement was adding new mini-verde greens, rated the number one grass for putting greens and considered the “choice of champions.”
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Wallace Gross Park
40 Acres
Wallace Gross Park is a picnic area located on the edge of Lake Guntersville. The park is
named after late Mayor Wallace Gross and was established to provide a picnic area next
to the Mink Creek Public Boat Ramp. There are plans in the near future to expand the
parking area and provide multiple boat launches. A new 100’ aluminum floating dock was
recently added to replace a smaller aged wooden dock. The park is located on property
leased from TVA and will remain a park in perpetuity.
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Bynum Park
29 Acres
Bynum Park consists of four softball/baseball fields with concessions, press box and restroom facilities. This facility has over 50 teams that play their regular season games. The
1999 Dixie Boys World Series was held there with over 10,000 people in attendance.
A $3.44-million soccer and tennis complex was recently added to Bynum Park to encourage recreational activity and provide a dedicated area for soccer games and practice.
The city is currently in the planning stages of creating a 3-acre dog park in Bynum Park.
This would provide a controlled area for dogs to play at leisure without impacts to local
neighborhoods.
The city is also in the early stages of designing a one-mile walking trail in Bynum Park for
recreational use by the community and nearby schools.
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City Park
20 Acres
City Park is located in the southern portion of Scottsboro on Lake Guntersville in the Roseberry Creek area. The city leases the property from TVA and will continue maintaining the
park into the future. The facilities include two boat ramps, a walking trail, picnic tables
with barbeque grills, two fishing piers and a pavilion. The City of Scottsboro recently completed a project at City Park’s public boat ramp to expand the parking area, improve the
launch ramp, and add a new 100’ aluminum floating dock.
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King Caldwell Park
20 Acres
Located near downtown, this wooded area provides nature trails throughout the park area. Within the park there are picnic tables, a pavilion with restrooms and a small playground area. Art Sunday, an arts and crafts festival held the Sunday before Labor Day of
each year, is held at King Caldwell Park and attracts many exhibitors and thousands of
people.
There are plans in the future to upgrade park facilities and improve the walking trail that
runs through the park. King Caldwell Park will continue to be preserved and maintained
for public use.
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Veterans Park
20 Acres
Veterans Park consists of four lighted youth baseball fields, batting cage, tennis courts,
press box/concession stand, and restroom facilities. The city is making plans to renovate
the complex and convert a portion of the tennis courts to covered batting cages.
Over 35 teams use this facility to play their regular season games. Various sub-districts,
district, and state tournaments have been held at this park. Baseball camp is held every
June with 50+ players participating each year.
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Recreational Complex (Rec-Com)
8 Acres
The Scottsboro Recreation Complex, known as the Rec-Com, is one of the finest recreation facilities in the State of Alabama. It consists of two air conditioned gyms, an indoor
walking track, an indoor pool with men’s and women's locker and shower facilities, two
racquetball courts, and meeting rooms for banquets, seminars, etc. Activities offered at
the center are basketball, swim team, swim lessons, Kids Klub, gymnastics, cheerleading,
clogging, line dancing and more. Located across from the Rec-Com are three outdoor basketball courts, a fenced playground area that includes swings and a modular playground
system, picnic tables, and a new splash park built in 2011 that is free to the public. The
City of Scottsboro will continue to maintain and improve the facilities as needed.
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Downtown Scottsboro
6 Acres
Scottsboro has a vibrant downtown square with shops, restaurants, and business offices.
The Jackson County courthouse is located in the center of the square, which is home of
the oldest trade day in the country. First Monday Trade Days began at the turn of the
20th century and survives even today as people gather each month to buy, sell, or trade.
Occasional family activities such as movie night and Jingle Bell Square also draw visitors
to the downtown area.
The City and County received matching grants for downtown renovation which will allow
for a project investment of $1.4 million. Improvements to downtown Scottsboro over the
next two years will include sidewalks, planters, crosswalks, landscaping and other improvements to the areas inside and just outside the square.
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Carver Park
5 Acres
Carver Park is a 5-acre facility located on the north side of the city. Carver Park offers
the community a lighted baseball/softball field, outdoor basketball courts, playground,
pavilion, concession, picnic area, and restroom facilities. The grounds will continue to
be maintained by the city.
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Ben Sanford Center
5 Acres
The Ben Sanford Center, located on North Houston Street, opened in 1995 for children
ages 5-14. Activities are designed to give at-risk kids an alternative from drugs and alcohol. The area consists of playground equipment, swings, and an outdoor basketball court.
Field trips, tutoring programs, and kids club are just a few of the programs that are
offered at the center. It is available for public use for reunions, picnics, etc. for a small fee
and will continue to be maintained by the City of Scottsboro.
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Maple Street
3 Acres
The City of Scottsboro purchased twelve residential structures in Special Flood Zone Hazard areas on Maple Street in order to establish an open space for flood mitigation and
protect existing structures and utilities from damage.
The properties are deed-restricted to remain in perpetuity to open space uses. The Flood
Damage Prevention Ordinance provides for the sound use and development of floodprone areas in such a manner to minimize flood blight areas. The city is continuing to
seek funding to remove existing structures from Special Flood Hazard Areas and establish
open space areas to minimize flood damage to community.
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Lakeview Shores Waterfront Lot
1 Acre
The Lakeview Shores Waterfront property, located on Lake Guntersville and maintained by
the City of Scottsboro, is established for recreational purposes such as boating, fishing,
camping and other outdoor activities.
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Scottsboro Trails
SCOTTSBORO TRAILS PROJECT SUMMARY:
The plan for Scottsboro Trails consists of 26 miles of biking, walking and hiking trails utilizing existing roadways, a new greenway, and undeveloped area (see map on next page).
Scottsboro Trails will connect all seven parks in the city, four of the six city schools, the
downtown area, the Scottsboro Recreation Center (Rec-Com), and four of the five city
shopping centers.
GOALS:
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Provide additional recreational opportunities for outdoor activities.
Make commuting to work and school by bike feasible, thereby decreasing traffic.
Increase alternative means to travel between sports and shopping facilities.
Allow safe alternative access for handicapped in wheelchairs to areas of downtown
(square), parks, schools and shopping.
The segments of Scottsboro Trails are:
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INTERPARK BIKE TRAIL: This main trail (11 miles) extends from the Goose Pond
Colony Resort near the south edge of the city to Carver Park near the north edge of
the city. Except for the greenway described below and some short distances with existing curbs and shared paths, this trail consists of 4’-5’ extensions on both sides of existing roads. This trail interconnects with the Town and Country Bike Trail. Located at
the midpoint of this trail is the Roseberry Creek-Bynum Park Greenway.
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ROSEBERRY CREEK-BYNUM PARK GREENWAY: A 2.5-mile greenway segment in
the middle of the Interpark Bike Trail. This unique 12’ hard surfaced walking and biking greenway not only crosses Roseberry Creek but goes under all the roadways
and bridges of the major US 72-AL 279 limited access interchange. This greenway
connects two schools and four outdoor sports facilities.
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TOWN AND COUNTRY BIKE TRAIL: This 9-mile biking segment connects to the
Interpark Bike Trail at two locations and serves the historic downtown area and side
streets as well as a western segment of “country” Woods Cove area. In the downtown
area where curbs and sidewalks are present, shared bike lanes with existing roadways
will be designated. For the Woods Cove area, 4’-5’ extensions on both sides of the existing roads will be used for the bike trail.
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RIVER RIDGE HIKING TRAIL: This 6-mile primitive hiking loop is located on TVA
land along a ridge overlooking the Tennessee River just SW of BB Comer Bridge. It
will consist of natural paths with minimal clearing of small underbrush.
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Scottsboro Sustainability Team
Valley Sustainable Communities Program led by:
Marilyn Lott — Marketing Director, Jackson County EDA
Sustainability Team Members:
City of Scottsboro – Melton Potter, Mayor
Greater Jackson Co. Chamber of Commerce – Rick Roden, President/CEO
Jackson County Commission – Matthew Hodges, Chairman
Jackson County EDA – Dus Rogers, Shelia Shepard
North Alabama Electric Co-op – Bruce Purdy, Manager
Scottsboro City BOE – Tony Ball, Facilities Mgr. & Asst. Superintendent
City of Scottsboro – Josh Little, City Engineer
Scottsboro Electric PB and Three Arts Club – Vicki Watts, Marketing Mgr.
Scottsboro Tree Commission – Arlene Grede, Chairman
Scottsboro Water, Sewer, and Gas Board – Roy Light, Manager
Solid Waste Dept., City of Scottsboro – Eddie Blizzard, Director
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