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, click here.
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.
COMMITTEE CHOICES
TOP 10
Fairgrounds
8/8
Baseball
7/8
Walking Trails
7/8
Skateboard
6/8
County Extension
5/8
Ag Expo Center
5/8
Handicapped Trails
4/8
Amphitheater
4/8
Mini Golf
4/8
Greenways
3/8
Batting Cages
3/8
Those who filled out a questionnaire tended to be either parents, public officials or concerned citizens but not students. At the meeting, it was determined that the students of McLean County needed to be polled.
The McLean County Board of Education was approached and gave permission for questionnaires to be distributed to all middle school and high school students. Prior to the next charette, nearly 500 students representing 14 communities completed questionnaires. The number of students represented from each of these communities* are listed below.
The students ranked baseball/softball fields as their #1 choice, 2nd choice - skateboard park and 3rd choice - walking trails as noted in the table below. (*42 students did not list the community in which they lived.)
Mooreman
1
Centertown
1
Sacramento
65
Beech Grove
10
Bremen
2
Calhoun
157
Island
76
Livermore
95
Livia
3
Owensboro
6
Rumsey
21
Slaughters
6
Utica
11
City Not Listed
42
TOTAL
497
Seventy students were from the 6th grade, seventy-three in the 7th grade, one hundred and ten in the 8th grade, seventy-two in the 9th grade, thirty-nine in the 10th grade, sixty one in the 11th grade and fifty-two in the twelfth grade. Twenty-one students did not note their grade.
The students ranked baseball/softball fields as their #1 choice. 2nd Place - Skateboard Park. 3rd Place - Walking Trails. (see below)
McLean County Students Ranked Their Preferences
Ranked in Order of Preference
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Baseball/Softball
142
76
49
49
27
23
34
22
25
42
Skateboard Park
126
91
43
50
27
26
14
23
30
68
Walking Trails
89
61
70
46
40
42
31
25
32
49
Fairgrounds
58
73
72
64
63
34
45
25
21
27
Amphitheater
57
50
44
66
40
43
51
46
56
27
Soccer
48
43
50
47
56
40
35
40
38
70
Frisbee Golf
34
38
64
44
37
46
39
51
62
50
Ag Center
27
35
30
30
29
46
57
66
63
76
Playground at ballfields
21
29
37
42
82
71
58
57
41
23
Playground by 4-H area
15
8
19
44
53
73
68
65
60
49
*Please note: The survey asked for mailing addresses therefore a few cities listed may not be specifically the city in which the student resides. 42 students included neither city nor zip code.
The students were then asked to list their top three preferences that there were not listed on the survey.
Their top three responses were a swimming pool, ATV trails and basketball courts.
RANKING
1st
2nd
3rd
TOTAL
Swimming Pool
86
53
29
168
ATV Trails
75
33
33
141
Basketball Courts
64
23
15
102
Shooting Range
25
28
14
67
Mini-Golf
21
25
18
64
Fishing Lake/Pond
12
12
6
30
Bike/BMX Park
11
3
0
14
Football Fields
10
10
6
26
Archery Range or Shoot
9
11
14
34
Horseback Riding
8
8
6
22
Campground/Picnic
7
9
13
29
Skate/Skateboard/BMX
7
2
5
14
Canoeing Access
6
4
7
17
Volleyball Courts/Net
6
8
3
17
Bike Trails/Paths
5
9
0
14
Go-Karts
5
3
2
10
Waterpark
5
0
1
6
Tractor Pull
4
2
0
6
Ag Center/Live Stock Arena
4
0
0
4
Amphitheater/Concert Area
4
0
0
4
Skating Rink
3
3
1
7
Driving Range
2
8
5
15
Concessions
2
3
3
8
Tennis Courts
1
3
0
4
4-H Activity Building
1
0
0
1
Arcade
1
0
0
1
Dog Trials/Trails
0
6
4
10
Petting Zoo
0
7
3
10
Wrestling Gym
0
3
0
3
DLZ Engineering and WMTH Corporation are considering all of the above as the begain putting together a final master for the development of Myer Creek Park which will also include recommendations for improved recreational offerings throughout McLean County. Click here for more information on this initiative and to email us your preferences.
June 2007 Design Layout for Myer Creek (click on map below for PDF download)
Spring 2007
Click here to download a PDF version of the brochure.
WMTH CORPORATION PO BOX 51153 BOWLING GREEN, KY 42102 PHONE (270) 792-5300 FAX 721-0004
