Collegedale and East Ridge officials are taking steps that could greatly improve their park and recreational offerings.
Collegedale officials are in the process of applying for a grant from the Tennessee Recreation Initiative Program that would allow them to hire a full-time parks and recreation director for the city.
Right now, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is primarily geared towards facility maintenance and its director, Eric Sines, also oversees the Public Works Department. If Collegedale were to be awarded the grant, City Manager Ted Rogers said, the duties would be divvied between the two departments, and the new Parks and Recreation director would be free to focus primarily on organizing more activities and programs for local residents.
The need for more recreational programming is not new, Commissioner Ethan White told fellow officials during a past town hall workshop meeting.
“There’s several people I’ve talked to recently who are selling their house because we don’t provide activities in this community,” he said. “They’re moving to North Shore, where there’s activities at Coolidge because they’ve got kids.”