News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Jackson County is asking the community to give its input on what they want to see to improve parks and recreation.
Mayor Randy Heady said he put the survey up on his Facebook today and over 90 people responded within two hours. Heady said they’ve even added questions today to get a better snapshot of what people are using.
“What facilities have you used outside of Jackson County? What parks do you go to?” Heady said. “What places do you work out at? So, I thought that was a great question because it shows us the leakage that we have inside our county when it comes to that.”
Heady said this is about outdoor recreation and tourism, but more focused on improving his constituents quality of life. Heady said he and Chamber of Commerce Executive President Jordan Hunter had a meeting today to talk about the areas best suited for development.
“We talked about not only developing something in the middle of Jackson County, which would be centered around Gainesboro,” Heady said. “Also looking at the hot spots around the county. You know, Dodson Branch is an area. What’s a 10-year plan look at when it comes to parks, because let’s be honest, on a day to day basis we might once a week take our family and go to a park that takes a 10-minute drive or 15-minute drive. Typically, on a day to day basis you want something that’s three or four minutes away. Something that you can walk to, or ride the bike to, so we’re looking at that aspect.”
Heady said the county is also looking at Granville and Center Grove. He said when residents take the survey, they will see it covers everything.
“How much are we using what we’ve got, which is probably not even close and then what would you like to see in the future from Jackson County when it comes to parks and rec,” Heady said. “What would be your vision? So, we’re hoping to capture participation and I’ll just be honest with you, the more people that participate in the survey, the better off we are.”
Residents can participate by taking the survey on the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce or Mayor Heady’s Facebook page. He said the survey will at least be online until the first public meeting on the topic on February 16.
