News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Jackson County will look at redeveloping the Roaring River Park in the near future.
Mayor Randy Heady said the state has funded $50,000 for the purpose of planning the proposed project.
“To just go out and lease the land from the Army Corps and work out a deal, that won’t work on our side and it won’t work out on the Corp’s side,” Heady said. “We actually have to have a plan in place, so this money is going to be utilized for engineering studies. Were going to look at the infrastructure that we have in place and we’re going to do some drawings of what we would like to develop the park into.”
Heady and state officials will meet with him this week to begin discussions about the project. He said early ideas for the park include the construction of a splash pad and new playground.
“I’m excited about that. We want to have something that our county and community can be proud of, and at the same time, develop it into an economic tool,” Heady said. “We’re going to try to put a 1,000 seat amphitheater down there. Jamie Dailey is highly involved in that planning stage. He wants to help back it, so that we can have music in the summer on the Roaring River.”
Funding for the planning phase comes from the state’s ThreeStar Grant Program. A total of 10 Upper Cumberland counties received $880,000 through the grant program this year.
