Communities across West Tennessee received ceremonial checks Tuesday morning for state grants that will pay for new pools, park upgrades, trail extensions and other outdoor projects, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News reported.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation presented the checks at Jackson State Community College's Ayers Auditorium. Recipients included Bolivar, Decatur County, Haywood County, Jackson, Milan, Parsons, Savannah, Selmer and Stanton.
"This year we saw the highest number of applications for our grant programs in the office of outdoor recreation and also the highest scored projects and applications," said Justine Cucchiara, TDEC's director of outdoor recreation. "So it was a very competitive year for our grants and we're just so excited to see the projects that come out of this."
Many of the awards were first announced in August, when TDEC's Office of Outdoor Recreation listed about $18.5 million from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund and $1.76 million from the Recreational Trails Program for communities across the state. According to TDEC, the West Tennessee projects include:
Bolivar, $3.5 million toward a new indoor pool at the Bolivar Community Center. Savannah, about $2.76 million for Savannah Sportsplex improvements. Decatur County, about $862,000 for fairgrounds improvements. Stanton, about $562,000 to develop a new city park. Haywood County, $525,000 to extend the Sugar Creek Trail. Selmer, $450,000 to renovate or replace the Selmer City Park pool. Parsons, $396,750 for a memorial park project. Milan, about $391,000 for restrooms at McKellar Park.
The Local Parks and Recreation Fund requires local governments to match the state money. TDEC said it partnered with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development so that distressed and at-risk rural communities could use the Grant Opportunity Fund to cover part of that match.
WBBJ's report also listed Jackson among the communities sharing in the grants, but did not detail the city's project. Raw 100.5 will share more as local leaders release construction timelines.
Sources: WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News; Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation