New Park Bond Project recommended

Murphey Candler II trail project to be added to MCP improvements

Brookhaven, GA, Dec. 12, 2023 – After two rounds of competitive bids on the Murphey Candler Lake House yielded proposals far greater than the budgeted allocation, Brookhaven is advancing other Murphey Candler Park improvements until suitable funding can be identified for the Lake House.

In its regular business meeting on Dec. 19, the Brookhaven City Council will consider funding the Murphey Candler II trail project and a sidewalk from the Murphey Candler Pool parking lot to the baseball fields. The Murphey Candler II project qualifies to be a Parks Bond project as master plans have been completed and adopted in 2016.

“It is apparent that the Murphey Candler Lake House will have to be deferred until the next Parks Bond because the community’s vision can’t be realized within the current budget,” said Mayor Pro Tempore Jones.  She added, “Because of unexpected post-pandemic construction inflation, it is necessary to put it on hold for now, but we can complete other top-priority Murphey Candler Park projects so that the funds allocated for Murphey Candler are still used in the same park as intended.”

After substantial public input, the Murphey Candler Lake House (originally called the Murphey Candler Community Center) was advertised for bids on two separate occasions, with the lowest bid ($6.9 million) coming in nearly 5 times the amount originally budgeted for the project.

The Murphey Candler II Trail project is located south of Nancy Creek and would create additional accessible greenspaces within the Murphey Candler Park footprint.