Big upgrades coming for county parks

We have a pretty big announcement this week: Knox County will invest $700,000 into its dog parks and splash pads!

“We are fortunate to have such unique outdoor assets in this community and the maintenance and expansion of them is a priority,” said Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

The move comes as the county had a surplus in revenues the previous fiscal year and county departments spent less than expected. The county will set aside $150,000 to help build new dog parks and another $550,000 as part of a two-phase overhaul for its three splash pads, all which are in need of major upgrades. The splash pads will close for the season after this Sunday, Sept. 19. Work on them will begin soon.

“Knox County’s parks and recreation footprint is quite large,” said Joe Mack, the department’s senior director. “We take pride in what we have and are always looking for ways to make it better.”

As a lot of folks might recall, we plan to build five new dog parks within the next couple of years thanks to a contest and grant program initiated and funded by the Boyd Family Foundation. The proposal – dubbed the Knox Neighborhood Dog Parks Plan – was designed to make Knox County No. 1 in dog parks per capita in the nation. The county is ranked No. 29 currently. A contest identified areas of Knox County and the county chose to build dog parks at Beverly Park, New Harvest Park, the SportsPark, Powell Station Park and Clayton Park, though specific park locations may be updated if the need arises.

The Boyd Family Foundation agreed to donate $250,000 to build five parks. However, they are expected to cost much more, so the county is kicking in the additional funding. Work on the parks should begin in the next month or so.

In addition, the county recognizes that its three splash pads – located at New Harvest, Carl Cowan and Powell Station parks – have outlived their life expectancies. This summer, parks maintenance crews have shut each of them down a number of times for repairs and maintenance. The splash pads are open daily – weather permitting – from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from May 1 through mid-September.

In other parks news, our one-man machine, Frank Christian – as always – was back at it again, pressuring washing picnic tables and benches around Corryton Park and then hitting the 10 Mile Greenway to trim and cut back along the edges. He also mowed Cruze Landing Park and worked a little magic spiffing up the kayak launch out in Powell. Then he joined the heavy construction crew, and they picked up and hauled off broken concrete tables, old large, heavy gates poles – no longer needed – from Guinn Road and Melton Hill parks.

Our carpenters also were busy, hitting Ball Camp Park playground, which closed for a couple of days, to repair some wear and tear on the rubber surface. Then they continued replacing sign frames at parks across the county, including Rocky Point and Mascot parks.

We also had crews at Beverly Park to pressure wash the fence and at The Cove to repair a section along a walking trail. In addition, our crews spent some time changing out hydraulic hoses on the garbage truck and the pressure washers. As always, it’s those little things that count, too!

On the recreation side, Knox County girls’ fast-pitch softball is in full swing, with teams at Carter, Bower, East Knox and Nicholas parks competing in a round robin league. The adult softball league kicked off Monday night and we added a women’s league that will play on Wednesday nights at the SportsPark in Karns.

Football continues at John Tarleton Park on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday; and soccer continues at Tommy Schumpert and U.S. Cellular parks.

Knox County Basketball League Commissioners will meet this week, and registration opens next week.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the work from the Knox County Engineering and Public Works Department.

Crews repaired a slope failure at Creekside Manor, installed a sidewalk at Grassy Creek Development and continued work on the Ball Camp Road project.

Enjoy this photo carousel of work around the county this past week: