Monday morning a dedication ceremony will be held at the entrance of Crosby Commons to commemorate development of the city’s newest park.
Once the site of Picayune’s hospital, the property was purchased by the city after remaining dormant for years. The property was left empty after the new site of Highland Community Hospital opened about three years ago.
The city paid the expense to demolish the old building, and has now received grants to develop a park on the historic site.
So far a fence, entranceway and some sod have been installed at the site.
The sod came from Picayune Memorial High School’s football field in preparation of the installation of a synthetic playing surface.
City Manager Jim Luke feels that aspect of the park’s development is historical, especially considering the lot was where the city’s first high school football game was played.
While two grants to pay for development of the park have been approved, Grants Manager Christy Goss said one of the promised grants has yet to be received.
The two grants entail $100,000 from the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation and a $500,000 grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The LPRVF grant has already paid for work to install an entranceway and fencing, but the grant from MDOT has not been received yet, in spite of its approval being announced almost a year ago. Goss said receiving a grant from MDOT is a long process that involves lots of paperwork to be completed by the city’s engineering firm.
Once that money is received, it will be used in the construction of an amphitheater, Goss said. The city also plans to apply to LPRVF for another grant in the coming year.
A dedication ceremony will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. at the front entrance facing Goodyear Boulevard. By Friday morning two decorative bows adorned the entranceway’s two brick columns, which covered the plaques that will be unveiled during the ceremony.
The columns were constructed with bricks salvaged from the old hospital’s demolition.
The dedication ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., and will feature Transportation Commissioner Tom King as the keynote speaker. The event is expected to last about 30 minutes and Goss said the general public is invited to attend.