The city of Spencer is applying for a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health to upgrade the playground equipment at the city park.
The grant amount is $80,000 and requires a $20,000 match from the city. Spencer Mayor Alisa Farmer said the current playground equipment is the same equipment that was originally installed when the park first opened 25 years ago. Farmer said the time has come for a new playground.
“I’m a big advocate for child safety and for having a place for kids to play,” Farmer said. “And so I’m pushing to upgrade that, for that reason, so that everybody could have fun, but be safe as well.”
Farmer said the playground was able to last so long due to patchwork and repainting the equipment. Farmer said upgrading the playground would be a great addition to the park.
“It’s heavily utilized more so than a lot of people think it is,” Farmer said. “And so I just want it to be presentable, and we take pride in our little park, and I believe new equipment would even add more to that.”
The city has already filed a letter of intent to the Department of Health. Farmer said after hearing back from the Department of Health, she feels optimistic about receiving the grant.
“They invited us to file an application, so that’s a positive,” Farmer said. “So we will see. I’m hoping fingers crossed, that we are successful with this.”
Farmer said coming up with the $20,000 grant match would not be a problem for the city. Farmer said she expects to hear back sometime in the next month or so.
