After years of traveling to Cohutta or Ringgold for large outdoor events and other occasions, residents of Varnell will soon be able to have a nice gathering place of their own, said City Council member Sandy Pangle.
During the recent Varnell Day celebration, Pangle and Mayor Tom Dickson shared plans for the Clyde Williams Memorial Pavilion that will be constructed on the open field area between Varnell Elementary School and the Varnell Gym at 4421 Ga. 2.
The pavilion, which will be just under 5,000 square feet, was unanimously approved by Dickson and the council members on Dec. 19, 2023.
Along with providing “much needed shade” during the summer months, Pangle said the pavilion will have a picnic table area that will be able to accommodate between 75 and 100 people, a stage for concerts and live entertainment, and men’s and women’s public restrooms.
“We’ve got a nice walking track here and we’ve got the playground, but when I come over here and talk to the residents I keep hearing one recurring request,” Pangle said. “We need restrooms. So, we looked at a way we could integrate restrooms in with what we hope will be a perfect gathering place. This is a great spot.”
The pavilion is named after former City Council member Clyde Williams, who passed away last year.
Mike Brown, city administrator, said Williams was loved by both the council members and city staff.
“They wanted to do something in his name, to honor him,” Brown said.
Pangle said he, along with Williams, Dickson and fellow council member Bob Roche, visited the open fields that formerly served as community baseball and softball fields two years ago with a plan to further develop the area.
“We started making plans about being able to provide something for the city of Varnell,” Pangle said. “Clyde had a great background in construction and moving dirt. We were evaluating what we needed to do and had he lived he would’ve been a very integral part in this.”
Pangle said the funds for the pavilion have been allocated and the project has been designed by the architects, Carlson & Carlson Architects of Dalton.
“Hopefully, in the next month, we’ll be taking bids and then the next step is to hurry,” he said.
City Council member Sarah Harrison, who filled the seat Williams had on the council, said the plan is to have the pavilion finished and open to the public by the summer of 2025.
Brown said while bids will not go out until “probably the second week of July,” city officials are estimating the cost of the project to be around $300,000 to $400,000.
He said the city will use federal American Rescue Plan Act money, which it received because of the COVID-19 pandemic, to build the pavilion.
Dickson said the pavilion will allow people using the nearby recreation facility, which has indoor and outdoor basketball courts, an outdoor walking track and a playground area, to have access to long-awaited restroom facilities.
“The restrooms are an important part,” Dickson said. “We’ve had so many people clamor for it. And having a covered location and good flooring underneath it, it will be a big asset. We have a lot of folks who come watch their kids play on (the playground) and use the outdoor exercise equipment nearby, but we just didn’t have any bathroom facilities.”
Pangle said the pavilion will have many uses.
“Families can come here and they can have picnics,” he said. “One thing we may do later is even put up some grills around where they can grill out. If car clubs want to come and have a cruise-in, we can do that. Gospel singings, concerts, church functions, weddings … the imagination’s the limit.”
Dickson said while the pavilion will be a welcome addition to the community, the project is only the beginning of a multi-step process to revitalize the area.
Pangle said it will be the “first phase of several.”
“It’s all part of a much bigger, master plan that we have where we’d like to integrate even more expansions to the park, like more walking tracks or an outdoor classroom.”
That may even include the installation of pickleball courts, he said.
“We’re kind of waiting to see if pickleball goes out of style, but maybe we’ll put in some courts,” he said. “We’re kicking some really good ideas around.”
Brown said the future development of the area would be funded by Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax dollars, which were approved during the November election.
“(Whitfield) County usually gives us our share based on population and the plan is for us to rebuild that whole area.”
Pangle said officials are planning to invest the funds into infrastructure across the city.
“We’re just trying to make it where people don’t have to leave here to have fun,” he said. “And at the very least to put up some shade.”
Dickson said Williams was a “special kind of guy” and city officials were quick to honor him.
“Clyde came on board around the same time I did, so there was a closeness,” Dickson said. “We all had a bond with him.”
“I may have took his place, but nobody could replace him,” Harrison said.
Pangle said Williams was a “gigantic teddy bear” with a “big heart.”
“Everybody loved him,” he said. “And he would’ve loved to have seen this.”