A state grant may mean great things ahead for parks in Union County. The process to develop a strategic plan for growth and development of parks is already well underway, and Union County Mayor Mike Williams said results may be seen as early as February.

The grant through Tennessee Local Parks and Recreation Fund is an interesting twist on the grant process. Instead of just paying for equipment or land, the grant first funds a consulting firm to create a strategic plan for parks in an area. Union County applied for the grant in partnership with city of Luttrell. Consulting firm Lose and Associates of Nashville is in the process of developing the strategic plan. After the planning process is complete, grant applicants may be awarded up to $60,000 with a $6,000 match to implement parts of the plan.

Representatives from Lose and Associates have already toured parks in Union County, not just county parks, but also state and municipal parks. The goal was to find out what amenities and activities are offered in local parks and to avoid duplicating services. The strategic plan will contain recommendations for equipment upgrades, land acquisition, and more.

"They loved the layout of Wilson Park," said Williams. "They thought it could have been designed differently, but as for the location, they saw a lot of potential for things there."

The plan will include Sharps Chapel Park, which the county leases from TVA, and Luttrell City Park.

Lose and Associates also conducted a public input meeting and an online survey, gathering information from Union Countians about amenities they would like to see in local parks.

"The nice thing about the public meeting is that you had everybody," said Williams. "There were older people, people in charge of youth sports, everybody had input. I'll be happy to see what they'll recommend to us, and hopefully we can do it."

Lose and Associates will present their findings in another public meeting that Williams anticipates will be held sometime in January or February 2018.

Williams said his office is continuing to pursue grant opportunities for local parks.

"We're applying for everything we can, and we're starting to get some results," he said, referencing a grant that recently helped repave the walking trail at Wilson Park.

Parks are important, he said, because they provide folks of all ages with positive activities.

"We see in court every day that when we don't give them good opportunities, they find bad opportunities," he said.

You can find the online survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Union_County_Parks.