Playgrounds could be the first to open in Catawba Meadows' long road to recovery

Nearly eight months after Hurricane Helene brought severe flooding to the largest park in Morganton, the city is still working on clean-up and assessment at Catawba Meadows Park.

The park is vast, covering more than 230 acres and offering many amenities for residents and visitors alike. These include softball and baseball facilities, 2.5 miles of greenway along the Catawba River, an 18-hole disc golf course, sand volleyball courts, picnic shelters, and restrooms.

The park is also home to two unique treehouse-like playgrounds and a living history village, all damaged by the storm.

The park has a long road ahead as baseball and softball fields will have to be made completely new, restroom facilities will have to be repaired from water damage and wind damage, and the parks and recreation department will need a new maintenance facility after their two previous facilities were ruined.

City Public Information Officer Jonelle Sigmon said the city is also working on getting estimates to replace lawn mowers, UTVs, weed eaters, and chainsaws ruined by the floodwaters.

According to City Manager Sally Sandy, parks and recreation damages made up nearly half of the city’s price tag for repairs from Helene damage, sitting at around $22.5 million. Park restoration and reconstruction are not the only costs. Morganton is also taking a revenue hit.

This year, Sandy is budgeting for $400,000 less revenue than normal for field rentals and concessions. Parks and Recreation Director Bryan Fish said 20 or more baseball or softball tournaments are normally played at Catawba Meadows alone.

Fish said athletes and their supporters travel from states like Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia to play in tournaments at Catawba Meadows.

“So, I think it’s safe to say, you know, we’re definitely going to rebuild all of this,” Sigmon said. “We know a lot of people depend on those playing fields.”

Sigmon said that to fix the nine fields, the top layer of earth will have to be removed, new irrigation systems will have to be installed, as well as new backstops and dugouts.

“We do not have a time estimate on that,” Sigmon said. “That is just a huge project to take on, so we just don’t know when that is going to be completed.”

Sandy said that the city has been working with FEMA to start the process of rebuilding a new maintenance facility to replace the two that were ruined. The first step will be to secure a location and get preliminary design estimates for the facility.

Sandy said it will be later in the summer before the city releases a full bid package for Catawba Meadows and the Catawba River Soccer Complex, which was also impacted and is adjacent to the section of the greenway that opened March 4.

Sigmon said that she and other city officials will visit the park areas heavily affected to create videos that illustrate why the park is still unsafe for residents. Fish and Sigmon are urging the public not to tamper with barricades the city has placed in park and greenway areas. Sigmon said the barricades have been broken multiple times, but they are there for safety — to keep people away from hazardous areas.

BEANSTALK PLAYGROUNDS

As for the playgrounds built by Beanstalk Builders, the city council recently approved a contract with the company to repair the Everyone’s Playground and Wagon Wheel playground by Catawba Meadows.

The contract will not exceed $160,650 and includes a 5% contingency of $7,650. The city is working with its insurance company and FEMA to get the expenditure reimbursed.

Beanstalk owner Mike Fischesser said the Wagon Wheel playground’s overhead support beams and center treehouse log had to be replaced. The repairs for the Wagon Wheel playground are nearing completion, and Everyone’s Playground still needs minor fixes.

Sigmon said the playgrounds could reopen in around two months, not including the rest of Catawba Meadows.

Fischesser did say, however, that they won’t be running the ziplines this year and that the ropes course will also be closed due to uncertainties with the park reopening.

LIVING HISTORY VILLAGE

The Living History Village, which was created by the Exploring Joara Foundation, was significantly impacted by Helene, according to Executive Director Tina Matthews.

The village’s site at Catawba Meadows was the location of a significant 16th-century Catawba Indian town. The foundation built an interactive learning center for people to learn about Native American culture and heritage. The site featured two Native American replica houses, a colonial garden, a Native American garden, multiple kiosks throughout the site with information, and a pavilion.

But after the hurricane, Matthews said, only one house and the pavilion remained standing. One house must be demolished due to safety concerns. The gardens were destroyed, and the palisade — or wall — was largely wiped out.

“It’s really stifled our ability to do programs because … this is where we function,” Matthews said. The organization still operates the archaeological dig at the Berry Site on Henderson Mill Road in north Morganton.

Matthews said the foundation is dependent on the parks and recreation department’s timeline but hopes to eventually return to Catawba Meadows and rebuild. The community dig day, which would’ve been at Catawba Meadows on Oct. 18, will be moved to the History Museum of Burke County.