2017 is proving to be a busy, but productive, time for the Elizabethton and Carter County Parks and Recreation departments.
The city board met Monday night and addressed a variety of projects that are either on the horizon or coming up over the months.
A handful of projects are in their infancy phase with research taking place. One of the items discussed during the meeting was the possibility of a skate park coming to the city.
“We looked at four of our area’s skate parks and provided a slide show to the board,” City Parks & Rec Director Mike Mains said. “We’re going to come back as a board and meet over the next couple of months to look at possible rules, regulations and see what steps we need to take about possibly bringing a skate park to the city.”
Creating a skate park has been passed around over the years, Mains added, but the department is now in a position to begin researching various projects to see the feasibility about making them a reality to the public.
Another aspect of giving these types of projects a green light comes to partnerships, the director added. Along with support from the City Council, Mains added the department is working alongside the county and volunteers from the region to tackle multiple endeavors.
The county and city parks and rec boards are working together to compile research on projects, including an off-road bike trail and a sports complex to be utilized by residents.
“There’s over 100 acres of terrain at the property adjacent to the former Sugar Hollow Landfill in the Southside community,” Mains said. “We’re working with the county parks and rec to set up a meeting with an engineer to develop a property assessment in the coming days.”
The city and county boards also developed a memorandum of understanding to look at the possibility of installing a sports complex within the community.
“These are projects that will take time,” Mains said. “It will take working together, going through all the information and research to make sure these (projects) can be possible.”
If the projects were able to make it through the different phases to be created, Mains added there would be the possibility for grant funding and other initiatives to help defer sizeable costs for the city and county.
Mains added the department is meeting with the IDEAS Group on a weekly basis to continue research and planning on various beautification projects in the city, including landscaping at the Covered Bridge and Edwards Island parks, a water wheel along Mill Race at Edwards Island and a fish pond near the island.
“That is the biggest thing,” Mains said about the different partnerships. “We’re able to put all of our minds together to research these different projects and see what we can do to better the experience overall for the citizens of Elizabethton and Carter County.”
While the aforementioned projects are being researched, the department is looking at replacing outdated lighting at the Covered Bridge Park that would remove electric wiring that is visible to the public and replacing several electrical boxes.
Mains added the department is working with the Downtown Elizabethton Farmers Market, along with a slew of other agencies including the public library, UT Extension, Elizabethton City Schools, Carter County Tourism and the local branch of the United Way.
The inaugural season for the Elizabethton/Carter County Youth Baseball and Softball Association is also around the bend.
Interested individuals looking to sign up can visit the City Parks & Rec facility on February 18 and 25 to register. For more information, visit elizabethton.org or the Elizabethton Parks and Rec Athletics Facebook page online.