ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns County Parks and Recreation Department wants the county’s first croquet lawn to be built and now has a plan it’s hoping to bring to the county to get approval.
The plan calls to put it on 2.3 acres of land right in front of the Rocky Springs Farms neighborhood, less than 10 minutes both west of Crescent Beach and north of the St. Johns-Flagler County line.
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There’s already a park in front of the neighborhood, which the croquet lawn would be added on to.
But neighbors like Doug Coleman don’t want to see any more done with the space.
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“I think the park needs to be enjoyed by all, not just a small group of people,” said Coleman, who lives in the nearby neighborhood and doesn’t think the croquet park will be used by enough people to make it worth the county’s $2.5 million price tag.
“I would not want to be living here watching croquet all day,” said Keith Hill, another nearby neighbor who thinks the area should be used for something else besides croquet. “I don’t know how many croquet enthusiasts there are out there that would be willing to drive all the way to the southern end of the county to play croquet.”
Action News Jax has heard a lot of different reactions from people both living in the neighboring community and from around St. Johns County.
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In a post Action News Jax’s Finn Carlin made to one of the county’s local Facebook groups asking for feedback on the project, some said they either liked or loved it, while others said they don’t believe anyone really wants it.
The county said the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners first voted back in November for the county’s parks and recreation department to pursue the plan and get feedback. The department held a public meeting Tuesday on the project at the county’s southeast branch library, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM.
The county doesn’t have an exact timeline in mind for possibly building the croquet lawn, but said, if it’s approved, it would take a total of two years to complete.
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