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October 10, 2007
Why is Miller Park closed, really?
Chuck Crowder must have been reading my mind. Either that, or the question "why is Miller Park closed?" is on more minds than I had thought. No one at all has brought it up in conversation with me, but I sure have wondered.
Whatever the case, I found Chuck's column on the subject all too affirmative of my suspicions. Just a week or two ago, I had been searching the web for clues about the park's closing, and only had found a Times Free Press article from last month that cited the official line about maintenance and repairs, and said that officials were waiting until the UT marching band played its annual concert there to re-open it.
The park was closed in mid-May for repairs and a major modernization, but what was to have been a two-month project has taken more than twice that long.Renovation is behind schedule because of delays in receiving park benches and because the August heat wave temporarily halted work to put sod and plants in the 1-acre park[.]
Problem is, I am often just across the street, at similarly named Miller Plaza, and I have not once witnessed any maintenance occurring. To be clear, I'm not talking about evenings and weekends, but the middle of the day on weekdays. Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with Parks and Recreation's work schedule; or maybe Mr. Crowder is onto something.
Rumor has it that in an effort to bolster need for the needless homeless shelter at the old Farmers’ Market property, Littlefield has closed the one place where the homeless take shelter. Why? Because he can.
And this story from NewsChannel9.com reiterates the notion that volunteer groups who follow their faith-based inclinations to feed the hungry were what really led to the park's closing.
[May 31, 2007] Last week Chattanooga city officials told a group of people who help feed the homeless at Miller Park to go away unless they get a permit.But Thursday they went right back to Miller Park and made sure that the city's homeless and poor had something to eat - only to find another barrier.
City workers closed Miller Park and placed barriers and yellow tape all around the block on Market Street.
If the landscaping project is really what it was all about, then so be it. But there are several outstanding questions that, until answered, will cause some of us to remain in doubt.
Community | By joe lance | 09:10 PM