Just as the Tweetsie Trail links Elizabethton and Johnson City, four local Rotary groups have linked up on a project to benefit the community.
Elizabethton and Johnson City Rotarians have teamed up to design, finance and construct a multipurpose stop along the Tweetsie Trail. Dubbed the Rotary Station on the Tweetsie Trail, the stop will include a pavilion, historical signs, bike racks and an amphitheater — all just a short walk from Happy Valley Elementary School. The Rotary Station will be located at the quarry section of the trail, nearly three miles from the Alabama Street trail head.
“Rotary is a civic service group, and giving back to the public is what we do,” Elizabethton Rotary Club President Charlie Long said.
With the Tweetsie Trail being a regional resource, Long said the Rotary Clubs decided to join in a collaborative effort. In addition to the Elizabethton club, the Johnson City Morning, Johnson City Noon and Johnson City Evening Rotary Clubs are working together along with some help from the Rotary International organization to see the project completed.
The cost of the initial phase of the project is $24,000.
“Rotary International supplied half the money, and the remainder was pledged by the four Rotary Clubs,” Long said.
When the groups got together to discuss how they could support the trail and help improve the community, Long said the idea of creating the pavilion was born.
Elizabethton architect Robert Reedy, a partner in the firm Reedy & Sykes and a Rotarian, provided the conceptual rendering of the pavilion, which features a design and materials to capture the atmosphere of the old Tweetsie Railroad.
“The Rotary Station will be a rest stop along the trail, much like a train station,” Reedy said. “This will give visitors and the local community a public covering to enjoy while using the trail. The incorporation of concrete pavers, leading from the shelter to an outdoor amphitheater, provides adjacent schools a destination for outdoor lessons and activities.”
The clubs will secure a general contractor to coordinate the construction, but Long said the group will also make use of inmate labor from the Carter County Jail to help complete the construction.
“Sheriff (Dexter) Lunceford has been very generous in providing inmate work crews for the skilled labor,” Long said.
Also, Rotarians will be getting some “hands-on” experience in constructing a pavilion when work begins in early spring.
Long said he and other club members are eager to get their hands dirty as they bring the project to life.
“A lot of our folks like to give back to the community, and not just by writing checks for scholarships,” Long said. “We work with Habitat for Humanity and other hands-on projects that benefit the community.”
Construction will begin pending approval from the City of Johnson City, the four Rotary Clubs and its general contractor. Johnson City Rotarian Richie Torbett, a member of the Tweetsie Trail Steering Committee, works as liaison between the committee and the four clubs.
A grand opening for the Rotary Station on the Tweetsie Trail is being targeted for May.