Justin House says the redevelopment of Indian Head Park will be a positive for all involved.
House, who is responsible for the design and a developer of the park, has countered concern from Stephenville Coun. Mark Felix, who voted against development of the part due to a lack of public consultation. Felix also said he had a number of calls from people concerned about work taking place at the park, mostly centered on the recent cutting of trees.
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House said more than 20 years ago Indian Head Park was a local attraction for campers and back then it was mostly pop-up style campers and tents. Nowadays, RVs average 30 feet in length and most have slide-outs making them up to 18 feet wide.
He said the redevelopment has many aspects, including the utilization of existing roads already developed in the original park. After two decades the roads have grown in, so some tree cutting and pruning is required to ensure the right-of-ways have clear and safe lines of sight for pedestrians, especially kids who will run and play in the park. The design has one-way traffic flow to keep widening to a minimum.
He said existing sites will be used and any structures fit for reuse will be utilized. Some trees crowding the lots will need to be removed, he said.
House said the intention is to do this work now when birds are not nesting.
“There is no desire to negatively affect any wildlife so all efforts to practically redevelop the park have been considered,” he said.
House said once the park is operational there will be positive spinoff for the town, Harmon Seaside Links and people who enjoy kayaking, bird watching and tenting.
He said plans are to have interpretive tours on land and water to view the local sites and fowl through the natural salt water lagoons adjoining the property.
He said once the initial redevelopment work is complete the developers plan to have an open house for anyone to come from the community for a walk through including potential site owners, bird watchers, hikers or members of the public wanting to view the development.
