White County received a $50,000 grant from TDEC to help fund a parks and recreation director for the county.
White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson said the county needed the director to help organize and promote facilities, as well as focus solely on Parks and Recreation. Robinson said the county has never had anyone to take on those responsibilities before.
“We kind of depended on the youth sports leagues, kind of handle it during the times that they needed it during their seasons,” Robinson said. “Then we end up having to kind of subcontract out repairs, mowing, upkeep, just general upkeep such as that.”
Robinson said some of that subcontracting might still need to be done, but having someone to oversee it will make sure everything is done correctly. Robinson said the Parks and Rec Director search will begin once the county budget is currently approved.
Robinson said the new director will be paid $50,000 in the first year. The salary will be offset by the TDEC grant.
“By resolution, our Parks and Recreation department gets two pennies of property taxes,” Robinson said. “That money is budgeted for that department every year, regardless of whether we hire anybody in that position or not.”
Robinson said the offset funds will stay with the department, per the resolution. He said it will go for improvements and updates to the field.
Robinson said there has been increased demand for parks and recreation services. Robinson said it is important to provide this so the community has a common space to get outside and active.
“It provides for sporting events for our youth, gives them something to do, teaches them teamwork, responsibility,” Robinson said. “It just helps with the general welfare of the community. So it’s going to be a great thing, and I hope this role, when he or she kind of gets it up and going, maybe we can look into expanding our parks and recreation facilities in other areas of the county.”
Robinson said tourism may benefit from the new Parks and Rec Director too. He said this will make hosting more events, sporting tournaments, and organized events easier. Robinson said it will also be easier to attract events from out of town.
The grant part of some $22 million in grant handed out this week across 31 communities.
