The Warrenton City Council approved preliminary planning for a proposed park, between the Warrior Avenue Extension and Bruno Parkway.The plan, unanimously approved by the council, includes a future recreation center, indoor and outdoor pool, an amphitheater, ADA-approved fishing dock, a dog park and various other amenities.“This is the culmination of a lot of input and work. All of the department heads were involved,” Warrenton Director of Operations Terri Thorn said.“A new pool complex would come along with all of these amenities that we have been talking about for over a year or so. It includes an indoor and outdoor pool. Along the area adjacent to that, should a future recreation center be something you decide to do, it includes walking and hiking trails with disc golf. Along those walking and hiking trails, there is a horseshoe pit.“It has an amphitheater, which will be a very low-maintenance-type layout, but will provide the ability to have some kind of entertainment there; a couple of playgrounds and various pavilions and restroom facilities,” she said. “It also will have a very nice lake that is planned for an ADA fishing platform to be there so everyone can access it.”Thorn said the proposed dog park would be located on the opposite end of the park.The vote by the council solidifies the overall design of the park, which the city will construct in phases.The first phase would include an aquatic center. While some of the park proposals may seem a bit lofty, Thorn said replacing the city pool is an immediate concern. She added the quarter-cent sales tax that currently funds Warrenton’s existing pool would pay for a replacement and its current facility.“We’ve already bought the property so it’s paid for,” Thorn said. “In the current budget, there was money funded for the dog park and walking trail. The plan is, in the future, to put the new pool in.”In 2018, the athletic complex loan will be paid for, she said.“What we talked in the past was using funds from the fund to pay for a new pool. Our current pool is very much past its useful life. In the last couple of years, we have truly kept it together on a wing and a prayer. This would replace the existing pool, which would then be taken out of service once the pool is replaced.”With the preliminary plan now in place, Thorn said the next step will be soil testing and a bat habitat study.“The next step is to start with the environmental process, which includes our beloved bats that can slow the process down another year if we do not get started quickly,” she said.City of Warrenton