City officials are entertaining design concepts for the new park going in behind Dawsonville Municipal Complex.

City Manager David Headley said he's been in contact with three architectural firms interested in presenting conceptual ideas for the park.

"What they will do is come and present their theme to the council, and the council will decide whether or not to move forward on one of those three themes," he said. "At that time, we will have our architectural construction drawings drawn up and hopefully, within the year, we'll see some kind of groundbreaking."

But Headley said he's looking for more than just a park rendering.

He wants the design firms to come back with drawings that would incorporate Dawsonville's unique heritage into the picture.

"Something that could tie into the [Georgia] Racing Hall of Fame" was one example he gave.

He said he also expects the downtown revitalization plan to come into play in the park design.

The firms are set to bring their formal presentations before the city council on March 21.

Headley hopes to move into the construction phase by the end of summer.

The city has a preliminary draft of what the 16 acre park could look like that was drawn up a few years ago by the Georgia Mountain Region Commission.

That rendering shows greenspace, pavilions, playgrounds and a walking trail.

The city has already applied for a grant that would fund the multiuse walking trial intended to surround the park.

New ideas that have been tossed around include an ice skating rink, skate park and handicap accessible playground.

"There are other things we could do as well, like maybe some water features or a gazebo area where people could come in and jam like they do on the weekends in Dahlonega," Headley said. "I'm really excited about it."

The city is also interested in hearing any ideas the public has for the park.

"My hope is at least by the end of 2017, we have got a park that's being utilized."