Michael Parrish has coached baseball at Cochran Park in Stockbridge for eight years. He said he was “dumbfounded” when he found out about the park’s recent closing.

  “With any park, you’re going to have some type of issue, whether there’s a pipe bursting or a roof that needs maintenance,” said Parrish. “It’s the same with your house. You’re going to have maintenance issues. But, that wasn’t a reason to close the park.”

  County officials temporarily closed the park in July due to safety concerns including a sinkhole and a burst pipe, with no timeline in place for reopening the park.

  Craig Powell has been a baseball coach at Cochran Park in Stockbridge for eight years. He learned about the closing a month and a half ago via social media, and said he, too, takes issue with the county’s decision.

  “We always have pipes burst in the ground, but we’ve fixed the

problems,” continued Powell.  “If you have a 40 to 50-year-old pipe in the ground, of course you’re going to have problems.”

  Powell said past presidents of Cochran Park, and the engineers who built it, want the park to remain open for several reasons.

  “They have all said they want us to keep the fight because Cochran Park  is a major symbol of youth sports in Stockbridge,” said Powell. “We also have a mentorship program that we do at the park, where we work with kids outside of baseball. My role is to be more than just a coach, for these kids who don’t have a father figure to have someone to look up to and to keep them off the street.”

  Coach Parrish added that he questions the concept of county leaders using the facility for the area’s canine residents.

  “We already have a dog park three miles from Cochran Park,” said Parrish. “I just thought it was a smokescreen. From what I gather, they want to make Cochran Park a DOT drop-yard.”

  Parrish said he has asked county leaders “on several occasions” for an assessment on why the park was closed, but has received no response.

  “Keep in mind also, this is  the only baseball park that Stock-bridge has,” said Parrish. “ I want the park to get a major facelift. I would like Cochran Park to be a premiere park, to be the absolute best in Henry County.”

  District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes is among those who recently advocated for the closing of the park. Holmes said problems at the park go beyond those imposed by a burst pipe.

  “Years ago, someone had a bright idea to build a park in a water conservation area, and now the pipes buried in the water beneath the surface are rusting away and the infrastructure is failing,” said Holmes. “I believe it would be a bad investment and totally irresponsible of me to keep throwing good money after bad by continuing the park in its current form. We will look to turn it into green space which will include doggie trails/walking trails. We are also evaluating having pickle-ball courts in areas deemed to be safe by county staff.”

  Holmes said county officials will work to ensure that the park is safe for local residents to use throughout the year.