Columbia City Council and Junior League Move Ahead on Roy Lynch Park
December 16, 2015
By Temple Ligon
Columbia City Council met at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 15. Under the heading “CONSIDERATIONS OF BIDS AND AGREEMENTS” No. 19 was to approve the purchase of playground equipment and installation at Roy Lynch Park. The park is only a .79 acre neighbor next to Logan Elementary and serves recreational purposes for the school.
Located in Cary, N. C., Carolina Parks and Play won the sale with a bid of $74,911.42, which was approved last Tuesday by city council.
The Junior League is in its 90th year, and its contributions to Roy Lynch Park are part of the anniversary observance.
To target completion of its participation in the park, the Junior League signed with the city a memorandum of agreement. In the MOA the Junior League provides a minimum of $50,000 in cash. The Junior League supports design of the park and selection of park elements. Fundraising efforts will cease with completion of what the MOA calls Phase 1 park renovations.
The Junior League raised money from all the usual suspects to include the sale of individually engraved bricks for $100 each.
In the summer of 2014 the park was part of a heated discussion at city council about safety for the kids. The proximity to Transitions, a major homeless facility, was all over the conversation. City council voted to restrict access by adults, that is, by people older than 12 and without children. The park, or a major part of it, can then claim to contain a “child safe zone”.
According to the MOA, the relationship can terminate if either party decides the mutual cooperation is no longer in their best interests.
