This update was posted by Mike Donila of Knox County Parks & Recreation:
The Cove is still closed, but we had a crew looking over the damage this morning and afternoon. Again, we are going to meet with some contractors tomorrow (the county was closed today) to see how long it will take to get everything cleaned/picked up and fixed.
One plan that we’ve kicked around – and again, this is very preliminary – is to work in sections, focusing on the beach and the sand volleyball court and making our way east to the pavilion. If everything were to fall into place, then there is a slight chance we could reopen that part within a week and a half, maybe two weeks. Please note, that’s being very optimistic.
The other half of The Cove, however, is an entirely different story. That could take well over a month to get cleaned, which means the loop will remain closed.
The Knox County Parks & Recreation Department wants to thank everyone who has shown their support for The Cove. Hundreds of folks have sent notes and left comments, asking how they can help.
We truly appreciate that and our staff will talk about it tomorrow. Right now it’s too dangerous to have people out there, but we think in the coming weeks there might be something folks can do to pitch in. We will continue to update folks on our progress on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/knoxcountyparks/