By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Council on Tuesday authorized Mayor Gene Melton to work with the state to possibly find land for an archery park.
Melton said he is in the “infant stage” of considering a possible site in Trussville.
One archery park will be built in Jefferson County, and city officials are hoping it’s built in Trussville. It would be the first archery park in the county. Melton said the possibility of an archery park in Trussville came up some years ago but the state land conservancy didn’t approve of a site in the city.
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Hunter Education Coordinator Marisa Lee Futral said partnering with a local Parks and Recreation Department to build a park is good so that there is someone to do maintenance and also to conduct archery programming, camps and more.
Futral said the conservation would like an archery park to be located near other activities, such as softball and other recreational venues.
“We do not want to be located on the back 40,” Futral said. “We want families to feel safe taking their kids there.”
Futral said three to five acres are needed for a basic park and 15 or so acres are necessary for a place to host tournaments.
Melton said there are many green spaces in Trussville for development of an archery park, but the city must be careful to not diminish future economic development in certain areas.
“We’ve just got so much open space,” Melton said.
Melton said an archery park would provide training for bowhunters. There are similar parks in Cullman and Decatur, Melton said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.