By Greg Ellison, Staff Writer

(Nov. 30, 2017) Snow Hill is looking to redevelop Sturgis Park and will hold a public meeting to solicit feedback on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Train Station on Belt Street.

Snow Hill Grant Administrator Ann Gibb said the town received an operating assistance grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to create a master plan and begin a multi-year improvement project.

“The park belongs to the people of Snow Hill,” she said. “We want to hear what they have to say and how they want to use it.”

Snow Hill has contracted with Annapolis-based landscape architects Campion Hruby, which will unveil several development proposals during the meeting, next Tuesday.

“There will be a presentation, power point slideshow and a question-and-answer session,” she said. “People will be able to make comments.”

While ideas are still being bandied about, Gibb said adding an information center, as well as upgrading and relocating bathrooms, are of primary importance.

“We want to make it an attractive destination, so people will want to come there,” she said.

The development proposals look to balance ecological attributes with community needs, with a new bus stop/train station and restaurant proposed for the park’s eastern edge, while the west side would provide a passive setting with native plantings.

“We want to strengthen the connection between the park and the town,” she said.

Gibb said another primary goal is incorporating nature play-areas for youth to highlight the scenery of the Pocomoke River.

As envisioned in the proposals, Sturgis Park would provide open space to the river in perpetuity, while simultaneously protecting the watershed.

Following the public meeting, Gibb said town officials would continue to work with Campion Hruby to develop a project timeline, which should be completed by March 2018. After redevelopment proposals are finalized, Gibb said the town would seek additional funding to begin construction.

Although various concepts are already on the table, Gibb said the town still desires community input for ways to increase use of park facilities.

“If people have other ideas on what they’d like to see they should express them,” she said.

For more information, call 410-632-2080. Because of the Sturgis Park meeting, the regularly scheduled Mayor and Council work session on Dec. 5 will not be held.