Morganton moves toward rebuild of its two largest parks

The City of Morganton has awarded an engineering contract to McAdams to oversee the rebuilding of Morganton’s two largest parks and regional tourism attractions, Catawba Meadows Park and the Catawba River Soccer Complex.

The city received 14 proposals and selected six for a staff committee to interview. Staff recommended McAdams engineering firm to negotiate a contract with. The firm has offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Asheville, and some out of state.

Nick Lowe, owner and project manager, presented an overview of the firm and its work on Oct. 14, which was continued from October’s monthly meeting,

McAdams has worked on several recreational projects within the last five years, including turf replacement at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan Stadium, renovation of Moor Park baseball stadium’s fields in Mooresville, and UNC Wilmington’s Outdoor Recreation Center.

The firm has also worked on several FEMA-coordinated projects, including park, stream, and greenway restorations in Wilson, Salisbury, and Waynesville. The most similar project to Morganton’s, Lowe said, is the Lee County Athletic Park in Sanford, with grass baseball and soccer fields.

For both fields, the cost for engineering services from the start of the project to the end is $1,570,618, Lowe said, which is about 10% of the projected $15-$18 million for what it will cost to repair the fields. He said that the firm will work with the city to see if they can lower that amount in some areas and work to see what can be covered by FEMA.

Sandy added that the city will be using part of their cash flow loan that they applied for and were awarded from the N.C. Department of State Treasurer, and the council approved a budget amendment to transfer the proceeds to the Helene Capital Projects Fund.

“It’s important that we do this right,” City Manager Sally Sandy said. “These facilities are super important to our community and our ability to be the tourism draw that we are in the region.”

Councilwoman Wendy Cato added, “We’re losing money every day that those fields aren’t being used.”

The project is expected to be completed in Spring 2027, with engineering taking about eight to nine months. The first few months will be dedicated to surveying and data collection, and then the last eight to nine months will be dedicated to final city approvals, bidding and construction.