Coming Soon, Weather Permitting

As I work on my column for the July issue of The Groundhog, the forecast shows a stretch of several dry days. We haven’t seen that in a while. I can’t remember a year when we’ve seen this much rain and stormy weather in the span of a few spring and summer weeks.

The break in the weather is welcome news for hundreds of campers — not to mention counselors and directors — in and around Mentone. The wet weather has also impacted construction projects, putting crews behind and pushing start dates for projects impacting Mentone.

The most obvious one is our sidewalk project. The company that will construct the final phase of our sidewalks is trying to finish their work in Fort Payne. If the weather holds, we should see them in Mentone around or shortly after the Fourth of July holiday. When complete, our residents and visitors alike will be able to walk from Moon Lake Library to the Mentone Market on new sidewalks, which connect with the existing sidewalks to take you to the intersection of Highway 117 and County Road 89. I’ve written before about the many benefits of a walkable town, and I’m looking forward to celebrating the completion of this final phase for our citizens.

Duska and Scott Fields of Fields Land Management recently visited Mentone’s Brow Park. Later this year their company will clear the heavy underbrush from below the park to prepare for future development of a new trail system.

The company tapped to install the new HVAC system at the Moon Lake gym is also behind schedule. We have placed two large fans in the building to help those attending basketball training classes there, but it’s still a hot place in the summer. The new HVAC system will open the gym to many types of events year-round, making the building an even greater asset to Mentone. The improvements were made possible by the town council’s decision to reinvest the money earned by the Fall Festival back into the property that hosts the event.

The owners of Fields Land Management recently visited Brow Park to assess the work they will do to clear the slope beneath the overlook. This will prepare the park for the addition of hiking trails for our citizens to enjoy and that will attract visitors who come to Lookout Mountain for hiking and other outdoor activities.

We also had a visit in June from Alan Williamson. He is the architect who will oversee the improvements to the original Moon Lake school building. He has experience working with grant projects like the Appalachian Regional Commission program that is funding part of these upgrades. A Fort Payne native, Williamson worked with the City of Fort Payne to transform the old Forrest Avenue Elementary School property into a new city hall and meeting space. He was also the architect on our own Moon Lake Library. We are looking forward to working with him to bring the campus up to standards and to ensure it can continue serving our community for decades to come.

Speaking of the school property, please come out and support our first Mentone Americana Nights at the Shigley Amphitheater. This is part of our focus on creating more activities on the property. Tour the shops and galleries, eat at Moon Lake Kitchen, and enjoy some great free music outdoors. There is no charge for admission, and we appreciate the businesses who have donated to make this event possible. We plan to run the series each fourth Saturday through September. See the cover story of this issue for more information.