Community group asks Sumner County to allow storybook trail at Station Camp Greenway

Representatives of the Southern County Health Committee asked the Sumner County General Operations Committee on June 2 for permission to install a storybook trail at Station Camp Greenway and for county maintenance to set posts and pour concrete for the panels. The group said local Rotary clubs and private donors will fund the project and handle ongoing maintenance.

The request matters to families and parks users because storybook trails combine outdoor walking routes with sequential panels that display a single children’s book, encouraging physical activity and early literacy. Charlotte Hollis, a Southern County Health Committee representative, told the committee the group has already established similar trails in Portland and Hendersonville and that partners “will fully fund that project from beginning to end.”

Committee members asked for details about installation, book selection and long‑term upkeep. The presenters said each trail typically uses 18 to 22 panels; one book occupies the whole trail and the book is changed on a rotation (presenters said prior projects replaced books about once a year, though schedules varied). Hollis said the committee expects local civic groups to help with cleaning and replacing damaged panels and to form a countywide volunteer group to support the trails.

The committee emphasized the limits of county funding. Commissioners noted that any physical work done by county maintenance would likely be scheduled into the next fiscal year and asked staff to confirm whether the maintenance budget could absorb the labor and concrete pour. Hollis said the mayor had been briefed and local partners had signaled support, and she offered the committee a vetted list of book titles (the group cited selections from Imagination Library as examples).

Members agreed to return the item as old business at the next meeting and asked the presenters to provide four proposed book selections — including consideration of a local author, Bethany Van Meter — plus written confirmation of funding and a clearer description of the county maintenance request. The committee did not commit county funds at the meeting; it asked staff to assess whether maintenance labor and materials could be provided within existing budget authority.

The presenters and committee members discussed selection governance: the committee said final approvals of titles would go to the full county commission per the county’s budget and policy process. The presenters said their intent is a countywide cooperative model enabling books to rotate among trails.