TDEC Awards $450,000 Grant For Work At Cane Creek Park

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation named Cookeville’s Cane Creek Park the recipient of a $450,000 grant Monday.

Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said that the funding will cover a hard-surface 5,627-foot trail, a restroom facility, and a picnic shelter among other projects.

“These were projects that were identified as needs and opportunities for us to increase and improve the recreational offerings that we have for our community,” Woods said. “And I think this is a great way to use this land and to expand what we have at Cane Creek.”

Woods said that they originally applied for the 50-50 grant in 2020. He said that while the project might be more expensive now, the funding will go a long way to cover costs.

“It’s a big help and we’ve been able to build several structures and do many projects with this grant funding over the years,” Woods said. “Including the expansion of Dogwood Park, the Cane Creek Recreation Center and Gymnasium were both built with these funds, grant funding of this nature, the skate park was built with grant funds like this. We’ve been very fortunate that the Department of Environment and Conservation have been supportive of our local park projects.”

Woods said that the next step will be to approve a contract with the state and then enter into the design phase.