Residents and county recreation director say they were excluded from city-county parks and recreation consolidation study
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Summary
A parks and recreation consolidation study conducted with state assistance was presented to commissioners; the county recreation director and other speakers said county recreation leaders were not adequately engaged during the study and asked that local boards be included in any next steps.
County officials presented a parks and recreation consolidation study conducted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Office of Outdoor Recreation. The county mayor said the study resulted from a joint county–city request and that the state waived the fee, so the county and city received the study at no cost.
A person identifying themself as the county recreation director told the commission the county recreation board and the county recreation department were not included in the study process and urged commissioners to "throw the study in the trash and start over," saying the draft did not reflect county recreation needs. The speaker said the county recreation board is an autonomous board established by the commission in 2019 and asked for inclusion in future work.
Mayor Rob Mathis and commissioners stated the study had been shared with the parks-and-recreation board and city counterparts; Mathis said the two boards would need to work together and any consolidation or changes would come back through the appropriate boards before reaching the commission.
Ending: Commissioners agreed any formal proposals would be routed through the county parks-and-recreation board before commission action; the study itself did not require a vote.
