Red Bank accepts State 'Project Diabetes' grant; parks manager outlines trail, parking and connectivity projects

The commission accepted a multi-year Tennessee Department of Health “Project Diabetes” grant intended to fund a sequence of park improvements at Gatsby (Stringer's) Ridge and Morrison Springs. Parks and recreation manager Jeffrey Gravy said the award supports three project phases: year one — trail construction at Gatsby Ridge; year two — new parking lot construction and community-center parking repairs with ADA improvements; and year three — pedestrian connectivity work including sidewalks, crosswalks and traffic calming on Tom Weathers Drive and improved access at Morrison Springs. Staff told the commission the agenda listed the consent-item acceptance as “over $400,000” in nonmatching funds, while the parks manager said during citizen comment that the city requested $402,300 and that $300,000 was awarded; staff acknowledged the discrepancy and said they will verify and publish the exact award amount. Gravy said the grant requires no local match. He directed residents to the city website’s parks and recreation pages for preliminary site plans and the adopted parks master plan. The commission approved the consent-item acceptance during the consent agenda and there was no recorded opposition. Staff said the work will be implemented over the three-year grant timeline and that additional detailed project plans will come back to the commission for required approvals and budget amendments as funds are expended.