New Mason Mill Park Features Unveiled

DeKalb County’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs unveiled the first phase of a $2.1-million project to upgrade Mason Mill Park that includes improved parking, a new dog park, and play areas. Sunday’s ribbon cutting ceremony marked the completion of a new day use area that includes a playground, open play areas, two picnic pavilions, and a community garden. Infrastructure improvements include new parking areas and public restrooms.

Despite overcast skies and cool temperatures for the first day of spring, about 50 people watched as county officials spoke about the park’s rebirth. County commissioners Jeff Rader (District 2) and Kathie Gannon (District 6) and county deputy chief operating officer for infrastructure, Ted Rhinehart, addressed the crowd.

The improvements were funded by a 2006 bond issue. County officials held five community meetings between 2008 and 2010 to identify goals for improving the park and how those could be incorporated into the master planning process. Construction began last June and the first phase facilities were opened about a month ago.

Rader, a smart growth and multi-modal transportation proponent, said the new park amenities are necessary for a growing county.

“This particular park with the playground and the picnic area was a real priority of the community,” he said. “Our area in central DeKalb has over the past few years really seen a rebirth of young children in the area as new families have moved in.”

Mason Mill Park will become a focal point in a network of parks and trails that connects neighborhoods and people.

“It's also another element of being able to knit these neighborhoods together with the park as the focal point and the park as the connecting pieces,” Rader said.

Trails connecting the park to surrounding neighborhoods and existing public and private recreational facilities will give people opportunities to forget their cars when heading out.

“We hope that folks that are bound for the library or this playground that live over in that part as far away as Suburban Plaza will think about walking and riding and biking over here rather than having to get into a car and driving over here because it will be a super way to get back and forth," Rader said.

County money is tight and that the new park facilities can succeed only if the community takes an active role in caring for them, Rhinehart said.

“We'll need your continued partnership in keeping things looking good because we know the tax dollars aren't going to come back in a hurry,” he told the audience. "It's only those partnerships that are going to help keep the fun in our parks and continue to make this kind of investment pay off for the future."

Work on the next phases is slated to begin in April. A new dog park and rehabilitation of the historic Decatur Water Works plant are on tap as the work continues.