Barbara Gibson was among the first citizens to arrive at the Collegedale parks and recreation community forum. She was there because one of the primary reasons she moved to Collegedale from East Brainerd in the fall of 2016 was the outdoor offerings available in the small city that abuts Chattanooga.
“I will power-walk the greenway four times a week, maybe five, for an hour,” Gibson said. “I really enjoy being outside, and Collegedale offers lots of different things. I love hiking and I am looking forward to finding the trails they say are near the college. It’s all very positive.”
Gibson is just the kind of person Traci Bennett-Hobek was hoping would attend the meeting. A former three-sport athlete, Bennett-Hobek was hired as Collegedale’s parks and recreation director in 2017. She is now developing a master plan for the city’s parks and recreational offerings, and getting input from citizens is necessary for that plan, she said.
About 30 citizens attended the forum, which featured stations for different areas of interest, such as the greenway, The Commons and Veterans Memorial Park.
“All the people working the tables tonight are volunteers, and attracting more volunteers is something else I hope comes out of this,” Bennett-Hobek said. Among the 13-15 volunteers working different tables were Collegedale commissioners Phil Garver and Debbie Baker, along with City Manager Ted Rogers.