Indian Springs Village Mayor Steve Zerkis said Thursday the town is surveying nine acres of land for possible use as a park.

Town officials agreed to hire the Birmingham engineering firm, Gallet and Associates, to conduct an evaluation, which costs the town $5,000. The land is located on Highway 119 near Indian Springs Village Town Hall.

Zerkis said the land is sometimes a surge area for rain or “a part-time lake.” The engineers will study the land’s infrastructure, and determine whether the land tests positive for asbestos or sinkholes before the project moves forward.

“When the engineers finish their study, we’ll make a decision whether to go ahead or not,” Zerkis said.

If Indian Springs Village opens its own park, it won’t be the likes of other Shelby County parks like Hoover’s Heardmont Park, which features tennis courts, soccer fields and a gazebo. Instead, the park would preserve the town’s natural green space. Zerkis said the land could also be transformed into a community garden, but that’s for residents to decide.

“We want to preserve green space in a part of the county where a lot of that is disappearing,” Zerkis said.

Zerkis said town officials will decide whether to continue the project in one month.