As the city aims to boost grant funding and encourage resident engagement about local parks, Chattanooga officials may renew an agreement with the national nonprofit Trust for Public Land, which is part of a partnership with the organization extending some 20 years.
The Chattanooga City Council will vote Tuesday on a $150,000 conservation services agreement that would last from July 1 to June 30, 2024.
Scott Martin, the city’s administrator for the Department of Parks and Outdoors, said the funding would enable the organization to assign three employees to assist with park listening tours, national grant writing efforts and a pilot program to convert schoolyards into community parks.
With Chattanooga preparing to embark on a major, long-term expansion of its parks infrastructure, Martin said few cities have this kind of supportive relationship with Trust for Public Land, which has historically received strong financial aid from local private philanthropies like the Lyndhurst Foundation.
Trust for Public Land also has a presence in major cities like San Francisco, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta, Martin said.