The Bailey Park visioning session will be held at the Kent County Middle School at 7:00 pm on Monday, April 8. Children and youth are welcome. Refreshments will be available.
The Chestertown Recreation Commission is inviting the public to attend a community meeting on April 8 to help plan the future development of Margo G. Bailey Park.
The expansive 18-acre park, named for the late mayor of Chestertown, is located on the east side of Chestertown between Rolling Road, Schauber Road, and Heron Point. It was previously a farm and is now mostly an open field of mowed grass. To date, the little-used park’s only features are a perimeter walking trail, the Marty Stetson Dog Park, and an unpaved parking lot off Schauber Road. The Town’s Public Arts Committee will soon install several sculptures in the park.
Some of the ideas floated for the park’s future include a large playground, a kiddie splash pad, a music pavilion, a skateboard/BMX park, a drone flying course, picnic pavilions, pickleball, baseball and soccer fields, community gardens, wildflower meadows, EV chargers, and additional parking.
The local conservation organization ShoreRivers has suggested that the unsightly drainage ditch that runs through the north end of the park be restored to its pre-agricultural status as a slow meandering stream. A nature trail could accompany the restored stream.
Recreation Commission Chair Jim Bogden, says, “Many Chestertown residents don’t know Bailey Park exists. It has great potential, but as big as it is, the park cannot accommodate all the great ideas proposed so far. The Commission needs guidance from the community to determine priorities for the park’s development.”
The April 8 meeting is just one aspect of the Recreation Commission’s effort to develop Chestertown’s first Ten-Year Master Park Plan. A second ‘visioning’ session planned for April 30 will examine all the Town’s parks and trails as a whole. Also informing the Master Park Plan are the results of past community surveys, a fresh survey conducted online last September, and youth focus groups. ShoreStrategies, LLC, a local consulting firm that helped Kent County develop its current five-year parks plan, has been contracted by the Town to guide and assist the Recreation Commission.
Once the Ten-Year Master Park Plan is completed, the Town of Chestertown will be well-placed to seek grant funding from the State of Maryland and other sources to gradually build out the community’s desires.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.