Concept unveiled for new Town park
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The Town purchased 70 acres of property last year for $5.5 million, then was awarded a grant in January for a park on that property, located near the corner of McFee and Boyd Station roads. - Submitted
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This intersection of McFee Road and Boyd Station Road is where new park development will take place on land purchased in 2023. - Submitted
About 60 Farragut residents and Town officials attended a public meeting at McFee Park on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to see the unveiling of a concept plan for the new park property at the corner of McFee and Boyd Station roads.
“It was a very good turnout,” Farragut Vice Mayor Greg Wiberley said. “We answered lots of questions.”
Tunnel, Spangler, Walsh & Associates (TSW) Design unveiled its first concept plan for the park and explained the process used to develop it.
“I’m happy to see the direction and community input,” Alderman Joey Ruffalo said. “There were a lot of questions, a lot of back and forth.”
Ruffalo noted Farragut Municipal Planning Commissioner Angel Ray asked how residents' previous input was being incorporated into the plans.
“That’s being put into the plans in subsequent meetings,” Ruffalo said. “They seem to be doing a good job, at least having the meetings, and citizens are showing up.
“I’m glad to see the citizens. Ask as many questions as you can. It’s going to give better answers.”
Wiberley expressed concerns about traffic, access to neighboring property and the preservation of trees that provide a buffer from railroad noise.
“I addressed the crowd based on a previous conversation I had with TSW,” Wiberley said. “I said they’re missing the point on their design, that their first priority was addressing traffic: how the park was going to interface with McFee [Road], if they define the easement for the road to the property behind it and how that property behind it was going to impact the traffic on McFee Road and the local neighborhoods.”
Wiberley also emphasized the importance of preserving the tree line to help buffer train noise for nearby neighborhoods.
He said additional workshops and discussions with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the park steering committee are likely.
Mayor Alex Cain also expressed concerns about the scope of the proposed park.
“Obviously, it’s a concept,” Cain said. “They came out with a concept based on the information they got from the survey they used in talking with the citizens, talking with the Parks & Athletic Council.”
However, Cain believes the plan includes too many features.
“In my opinion, it went way overboard,” he said. “Way too much stuff put into it. There was a Frisbee golf course; there was a gathering space; there was an event center, a stage and so on.”
Cain said the proposed road through the park was particularly troubling.
“Just looking at it visually, it was very busy,” he said. “The point that really bugged me was we had a two-lane road going from McFee right through the middle of the park to connect to possible development that’s behind it, which means we can never close the road.
“We could never limit access to the road, and the residents who live there would have 24-hour access back and forth.”
During the Thursday, Oct. 22, Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, Cain acknowledged that the Town must provide an easement for access to the adjoining property but said alternatives should be considered.
“That doesn’t mean it has to go through the middle of the park, and it doesn’t have to be the same road our [other] residents would access,” Cain said. “So, there’s options there.”
