Henry County officials unveiled a plan to totally overhaul Cochran Park in Stockbridge, but it’s not going to be implemented, at least not right now.

  Three months after the park was closed for safety concerns, a master plan that would permanently remove the baseball fields on the site and transform it into a passive park dominated by wooded trails was stalled due to a 3-3 vote by the Henry County Board of Commissioners.

  Metal piping which caused the large sinkholes in the parking lot would have been removed but not re-installed under the proposed plan, according to county staff members Roque Romero, who said that a pond would be located at the park for water to flow into. All of the pipes currently at the park are metal, including one that runs from the railroad tracks to the park’s entrance on East Atlanta Road.

  An estimate produced by an outside engineering firm recently noted that it would cost just under $600,000 just to do the repairs, and Romero said resurfacing and other necessities would raise the total price tag to about $750,000. Implementation of the master plan resulting in two pavilions, the trails and the completed parking lot would cost an estimated $650,000.

  The park closing in July forced baseball teams to relocate to Hidden Valley Park in the Fairview community, and a large number of families and coaches from Cochran Park programs have petitioned the county repeatedly to make the necessary repairs that would allow baseball to return.

  During the board’s discussion, chair June Wood asked if any kind of plan that wold keep the ball fields has been considered or developed, saying that there are no other fields in close proximity.

  “There has been a serious outcry about this park,” said Wood. “We need to look at what it would take to keep the ball park as well as adding walking trails.”

  Bruce Holmes, in whose district the park is located, made the initial decision to close the park and has not budged from his position that it should remain that way. He also began the initiative to transform it into a passive park.

  “Nearly all of the citizens I’ve talked to want something similar to Village Park,” he said, referring to the new park in Fairview. “All of the baseball teams are playing at Hidden Valley Park. It’s not too far from Cochran Park.”

  It is a 4.9-mile drive between the two parks. The only public ball fields in Stockbridge are in Cochran Park, city councilman Elton Alexander pointed out later in the evening during public comment time, adding that Stockbridge is the largest city in the county and its residents pay county taxes which should allow them to benefit from the park.

  Holmes pressed on in support of the master plan, saying that the new park “would be fully utilized year-round, bring added green space to the area and make it more beautiful. The majority of citizens will have access to a beautiful area they can enjoy.”

  He made the motion to move forward with the master plan, getting support from Dee Clemmons and Vivian Thomas. But opposing votes from Wood, Gary Barham and Johnny Willson killed the idea for now.