ROGERSVILLE — The Hawkins County Commission voted to pass a 10-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan that has already been approved by Church Hill and Rogersville.
At the Monday night meeting, commissioners discussed the plan they partnered with Rogersville and Church Hill to create.
The plan was created because, in 2019, the state of Tennessee began requiring counties and cities to have a master plan in place before they could qualify for parks and recreation grants.
According to Brian Hill with Community Development Partners, the state added this requirement because it was funding projects that weren’t being well utilized or taken care of.
In developing this plan, Community Development Partners received survey responses from 650 people across the county and held public forums to see what communities wanted in a park.
Through the course of this plan, Community Development Partners analyzed all the parks belonging to Rogersville, Church Hill and Hawkins County. The surveys revealed that people want amenities like greenways, splash pads and community centers.
The master plan also includes a list of high-priority and low-priority improvements that can be made at each park and the estimated cost of those projects. The plan includes concept images for each park.
At Laurel Run Park, the plan suggested 19 high-priority improvements valued at $836,908. The improvements include paving and striping the parking lot, adding Americans with Disabilities Act accessible picnic tables and playground equipment, replacing grills, updating the restrooms and adding a small campground.
At St. Clair Park, the plan suggested nine high-priority improvements valued at $126,128. These improvements include replacing old playground equipment, making the restrooms and concessions area ADA compliant and turning the tennis courts into pickleball courts.
The plan also suggested 10 low-priority improvements valued at $355,431, including adding clay to the ball field, adding an ADA swing or play equipment and resurfacing the playground with poured rubber.
For Rogersville, the plan also suggested 14 high-priority improvements for Rogersville City Park valued at $6,986,825, including building a new community center, adding a splash pad and path security lighting.
The plan suggested nine high-priority improvements for Church Hill’s Holliston Mills Riverfront Park valued at $5,790,213, including an ADA accessible playground, a community center and a pavilion.
According to Hill, this is an aspirational plan, which means none of the ideas are set in stone.
The Hawkins County Commission passed the plan 20-0.
The commission was the last entity involved in the master plan to pass it.
