By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Veterans Park off Alabama 119 in southern Alabaster now has some room to grow in the future, after the City Council voted to purchase about 16 acres near the park during a Sept. 25 meeting.

Council members voted unanimously during the meeting to purchase a portion of the property between the park and Alabama 119 for $800,000. The property owner donated the rest of the property.

The currently vacant pair of properties is split by the access road leading into the park from Alabama 119, and is often used as an overflow parking area during large events at the park.

Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon and City Council President Scott Brakefield said many people in the community thought the city already owned the property.

The current Veterans Park sign off Alabama 119 is on the property.

“We often got questions about why we didn’t have a nicer sign for Veterans Park. It’s because the owner of the property wouldn’t allow us to do that,” Brakefield said. “Hopefully, we’ll now be able to install a nice sign to really show off our premier park.”

Handlon said there are no immediate plans to expand Veterans Park onto the property, but said owning the land will allow the city to control how it is used in the future.