Claude D. Kelley State Recreational Park, formerly Little River State Park, will re-open Saturday morning and continue to be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to sunset until further notice.
Rick Oates, state forester for the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC), which manages the park, said a brief ceremony will be held with local and state officials present at 11 and the public is encouraged to attend.
During the Monroe County Commission meeting Tuesday in Monroeville, Oates asked the commissioners if the county could possibly provide some in-kind services to help maintain and improve the park. The commissioners agreed that the park is a valuable asset for the county and the county would do what it could to help AFC maintain and improve the park.
Oates said the park has numerous amenities, including several covered pavilions, a 25-acre lake for swimming and fishing, trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, a playground and a campground area that AFC hopes to make available to campers soon.
“We are operating the park on a limited budget, so it’s going to take a partnership to make it work,” said Oates. “Escambia County has said it will consider mowing the grass for us and possibly do some other things.”
The park is located about five miles south of Uriah off Hwy. 21 and rests half in Monroe County and half in Escambia County.
“At one time AFC had five employees in the county and two were stationed at the park,” Oates added. “We have two now and one was just added a few months ago.”
Oates said one two of the most urgent needs at the park are a septic tank and a water well for the bathhouse at the campground.
“I think the campground could be a big revenue source for the park if we can get a septic tank and a well,” he said. “We’re talking with the state about possibly repairing one of the bridges, too.”
District 3 Commissioner Billy Ghee and District 1 Commissioner Lum Childs thanked Oates and AFC for re-opening the park.
“I’m sure that if we can, we’ll provide some in-kind services,” said Ghee.
Probate Judge/Commission Chair Greg Norris said the county has worked with former State Forester Gary Cole at the park in the past and will be glad to do what in can again.
“It’s obviously a great asset to the county,” said Oates. “We (AFC) have had a lot of interests shown in using the park since the article ran in the paper (The Monroe Journal).”
Oates added that Mark Miller, a forester stationed in the county, and Cole are assisting in the move to make some improvements at the park.
“Our goal is to locate a new manager and we’re currently talking with a couple of groups that are interested,” said Oates. “That’s why we really need the public to respond to the re-opening and use the park as much as possible.”
Cole, who lives in Excel, has led several attempts to keep the park open and helped make improvements to the park over the years. He has agreed to work with Oates and the AFC to coordinate this effort to reopen the park and keep it open if at all possible.
Oates said admission to the park is $2 for adults and $1 for senior adults and children under 12. He said if an attendant isn’t on duty at the admission booth, visitors are asked to place the price of admission in the collection box at the booth.
Oates said the park was closed Jan. 1, 2017 shortly after Iron Men Industries, a nonprofit Christian organization, announced it would no longer be financially able to manage the park.
“Obviously, the AFC doesn’t need to be in the park business, but we’re going to do what we can to make it work,” said Oates.
“We’re dipping our toe in the water,” Oates told members of the Escambia County Commission.
Oates noted that park management is not the primary mission of the Alabama Forestry Commission and it’s looking for partnerships to move forward.
He did say the forestry commission is looking for someone to manage the property and they are talking with two groups now about that possibility.
Oates said the forestry commission is committing some resources but, to make it work, it needs to be in partnership with the county commissions in Escambia and Monroe counties.
Oates asked that the commission consider mowing the grass at the park.
Commissioner Larry White said the commission supports the efforts to keep the park open and said the board has discussed helping with some of the maintenance.
“We certainly want to see it open,” White said.
Oates said several things needed to be done at the park before any consideration can be made to open it full time. One is either the repair or replacement of a weight-restricted bridge near the back of the park which leads to the RV parking. He said currently RVs can’t cross the bridge, but noted they have been working with the Department of Transportation on that problem.
