FMPC approves TDEC park upgrades
Farragut Municipal Planning Commission approved a park improvement projects, funded by Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Local Parks and Recreation Funds matching grants, at McFee and Mayor Bob Leonard parks during its meeting Thursday, Feb. 15.
“This is fantastic,” Planning Commission Chairman Scott Russ said.
“I appreciate all the hard work you’ve done on these grants,” Commissioner Noah Myers added.
“Thank you for the opportunity to present this exciting Local Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Fund grant project to the Planning Commission,” Parks & Rec director Ron Oestreich said. “As of the 2020 census, the Town of Farragut had 23,506 residents and 8,870 households.
Projects included in the grant at McFee Park include a 2-acre dog park with an Americans with Disabilities Act pathway to the dog park, plus a restroom facility and fenced-in elements. Total cost is $465,366. He said the restroom would be a drop-in facility with the same design as the restroom at Town Hall Park.
Projects at MBLP include replacement of synthetic turf on Fields 1 and 2 with a price tag of $1.447,400; ADA pathway replacement, $267,500, and a sand volleyball court renovation, $50,000.
In addition to the LPRF grant, the Town also received a $25,000 grant from the Boyd Foundation through its Dog Park Dash program that also will go toward the dog park construction.
“You all know we pride ourselves on our parks and our programs on our 133 acres dedicated to outdoor recreation,” Oestreich said. “Our parks are a draw for people all over the Greater Knoxville area, and likewise, our athletic fields are a draw for teams throughout the region and teams across the country with tournaments to come.”
In early 2023, “the Parks and Recreation Department applied for and received a $2.73 million LPRF grant for several projects at Mayor Bob Leonard and McFee parks,” the director said. “This is a 50 percent matching grant, so the actual grant amount received is $1,365,000, which is the largest LPRF the Town has ever received.
Oestreich said the Parks and Recreation Department would manage each project.
“The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved this grant and the 50 percent funding in the (Capital Investment Program), and we are set to begin design in February,” he said.
Oestreich said the staff will prepare drawings for the dog park and ADA path, finalize bid documents and award bids for turf replacement projects — all in the spring.
The Town will start turf replacement and complete it in the summer.
It will finalize bid documents and award bids for the ADA path project in the fall, and then start the pathway project in winter/spring 2025.
