Barth Residents Seek County Improvements. Streetlights, A Clean Up, And Perhaps A Park Are Coming.

April 15, 2023

There’s Barth Road, Barth Heights, Barth Lane and north Barth Road — all in Barth.

Barth is a quiet little community between Highway 29 to the west and the Escambia River to the east, a couple of miles north of the Highway 29 and Highway 97 intersection.

The houses are spread out, but the community is close.

And the residents are looking to Escambia County for some improvements.

Some of the roads are dirt. And it’s dark, with no street lighting.. There’s no bus stop, no community center, and no playground. Children play basketball in the street with a goal next to Barth Lane.

“This is a small community, but we are still people. And we need the same concern and consideration,” resident Mary Nory recently said. She was born in Barth, moved away, and returned home about a decade ago. “No one seems to help Barth. They pass over Barth. They go to everywhere but Barth, and there is a whole community here.”

Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry, who represents District 5 including Barth, said he is looking at ways to help the area, including their first ever community cleanup event.

“I don’t know if you have been out in Barth and seen some of the areas, but a lot of people is kind of concerned about, when I say that they yard is like really, really, really high and they don’t even know how they going to get it cleaned,” Franscine Mathis told Barry during a town hall meeting this week. He explained that county resources could not be used on private property, but perhaps some community groups could help. During the upcoming community cleanup event, residents will be able to put debris on the right of way for free disposal by the county.

“I just don’t want them to be fined. That’s what I am worried about,” she said. “When they do the clean sweep, and maybe code enforcement may see something or come out there to see something, and I just don’t want nobody to get fined.”

Barry reassured Mathis that fines are not the focus of a community cleanup event; he said the code enforcement system is generally complaint driven.

Chris Phillips, Escambia County assistant engineer, said the county has identified several locations around Barth for streetlights. Those are Highway 29 and Barth Road, Highway 29 and North Barth Road, Barth Road and Barth Heights, and Barth Road and Barth Lane.

“I’m comfortable looking at something similar to what we did in the Walnut Hill community, a small community park that’s walking distance for a lot of residents that may not have transportation,” Barry said. He said a park in Barth could be located on any small parcels owned by the county. The Katie Mae Marshall Memorial Park open in July 2021 on North Cypress Street in Walnut Hill with a playground on a small parcel that escheated to the county..

Mathis said she had has contact with a Barth landowner with “a lot of land” that has expressed interest in allowing a park on their property. Barry said that was doable, if they donate the land or lease it to the county for $1 a year.

Pictured top: The White Lilly Baptist Church on Barth Road was built in 1970. Pictured inset: Franscine Mathis address District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry during a town hall meeting this week. Pictured bottom inset: The Katie Mae Marshall Memorial Park open in July 2021 on a piece of property that escheated to Escambia County on North Cypress Street in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “Barth Residents Seek County Improvements. Streetlights, A Clean Up, And Perhaps A Park Are Coming.”

  1. Joni on April 16th, 2023 10:33 am

    Glad to see we’re finally going to get a community clean up here. I’ve been asking for years. At least someone is finally trying to do something.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News