Over the next several weeks, residents of the Town of Sumrall will find most – or all – of Beam Park inaccessible while officials work to bring the site into better compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which ensures special accommodations for individuals with mental and/or physical medical conditions.
Mayor Joel Lofton said the improvements, which is located at the intersection of Mississippi 589 and Columbia Avenue in Sumrall, will include measures such as ADA-compatible restroom facilities, sidewalks and fencing. The park was donated to the town late last year by Dawn Beam – who serves as a justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court – and her husband Dr. Stephen Beam, making it a public location and necessitating the ADA compliance.
“It’s a beautiful place and has quite a few amenities, but now that we’ve taken it over, we have some compliance issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Lofton said. “We want to make sure that all of our citizens can benefit from the park, so right now we have pretty much closed the park to access as construction is underway on some ADA-accessible restrooms that will be added to the existing pavilion.
“Once the restrooms are completed, we will begin working on ADA-compliant sidewalks that will lead from the street side to the pavilion, along with a number of ADA parking spaces. All of these amenities being added are to make sure that the town is compliant now that it is a public property, and to make sure that all our citizens can access it.”
The fencing will be installed in between Mississippi 589 and the edge of the park closest to that thoroughfare.
“We certainly don’t want any children there that are enjoying the park to pop out on the other side of a bush and stumble down into the highway,” Lofton said. “So we’re doing some additional work there to ensure safety for the long run.”
Officials hope the restroom project will finish in approximately six weeks, depending on the weather. That work will be completed before construction begins on the sidewalks.
“That’s due to the layout of the park, and not wanting to have to tear anything out or undo anything,” Lofton said. “We’re fixing the restrooms and then kind of working our way out (from there) so that we don’t duplicate efforts as we do that work."
The initial work at the park is expected to cost somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000. A significant portion of that price tag being funded by the Sumrall Main Street Association, which recently received a grant for improvements of community facilities.
“They are partnering with the town and paying the lion’s share of this ADA-compliant phase of this project,” Lofton said.
Before deeding the park to the town, the Beams had owned the site since 2017. Throughout the past several years, the park has hosted myriad events such as Christmas-themed shows and lightings, plays and musical shows.
