The City of LaGrange continues to collaborate with Bell Line community members to make improvements to the neighborhood.

City crews recently demolished the concession stand at Jones Street Park and removed fencing.

“The city is very focused on rehabilitating our parks and bringing them back to life. At Jones Street Park, we plan on creating a walking, removing some fencing and improving our basketball courts,” City Manager Meg Kelsey said.

“We are really excited about working with the Bell Line community. They are an active neighborhood and we are grateful for the efforts they are putting forth.”

In March, the mayor, city council and city staff held a Neighborhood Town Hall meeting with the community to hear concerns.

“We started with the Mayor’s Town Hall Meeting on March 5th and we had citizens from all over LaGrange come out. We had a follow up meeting on March 20th with about twelve Bell Line community members who came out and spoke up about what they want to see,” said former City Councilwoman and Bell Line Resident Norma Tucker.

“In the past, the view that was obstructed by the concession stand allowed for different crimes to happen at the pavilion, because people could do whatever and be out of view. We feel that having this building demolished is the start of renovations and upgrades in our Bell Line neighborhood.”

“From a public safety standpoint, the research about public safety and parks and crime shows that the more use a park gets and the more activity in the area by folks engaged in recreation the more likely you are going to drive crime down,” LPD Chief Lou Dekmar said.

“Not only does this take care of the recreational requirements and the interests of the community but it also creates a public safety deterrent for crime and disorder.”

Since the initial meeting the City of LaGrange has made the following improvements to the community:

• LaGrange Police installed cameras in the area surrounding Troup Street
• LPD has conducted a site survey for cameras to be placed in the Jones Park area.
• LPD conducted a traffic study to analyze the traffic data to determine the feasibility of speed bumps.
• LPD conducted a security survey and made recommendations on increased lighting in the area.
• City staff installed three new utility poles in the neighborhood and changed existing lights to LED lights for more efficient lighting

If you are interested in being a part of the neighborhood partnership in this community, please contact LPD Sgt. Marshall McCoy at mmccoy@lagrangega.org.