Parks director reports record participation and upcoming holiday events; permanent courthouse lighting proposed

Parks Director Lisa Deavers told the Franklin City Commission and Simpson County Fiscal Court that fall and summer athletic leagues recorded 1,361 participants across baseball, softball, adult softball, flag football, soccer and the city’s first pickleball league. Deavers listed programs offered this year — including a free Senior Fitness program, Art in the Park, puzzle palooza and a Power Wheels race for young children — and noted multiple community fundraisers and events hosted in the parks.

Deavers reported capital and maintenance work: painting and cleaning park buildings, playgrounds brought up to mulch code, improvements to tennis, basketball and pickleball courts at Lincoln and Jim Roberts parks, Ag Building door and floor repairs, and an anticipated completion of the dog park by the end of the year. She also said an ice‑skating rink will be available Dec. 14–21 at the community park and that the Nights of Lights drive‑thru and other holiday events will run Nov. 25 through Dec. 25 on weekend evenings, with an additional thirty displays planned for this season.

Franklin‑Simpson Renaissance Director Kim Roberts presented a permanent holiday lighting solution for the Historic Courthouse using low‑voltage Oelo lights from Blingle Premier Lighting; the consultants gave an estimated cost of $22 per linear foot and will provide a formal estimate after a site meeting. Roberts also announced Boo Fest on Oct. 21 and plans to prepare tree lighting around the courthouse in early November ahead of Small Town Christmas on Dec. 2.

Deavers’s and Roberts’s reports are included as attachments to the meeting packet for further detail; no formal votes were recorded on parks capital items in the transcript.