Rogersville Parks Director Matthew Elkins announced July 9 he will seek a BlueCross Healthy Place grant for the purpose of making major upgrades to Swift Park, including installation of a splash pad.
This would be similar to the $1.8 million BlueCross Healthy Place grant awarded to Bean Station in 2023 to construct a new park featuring a splash pad, playground equipment, senior outdoor exercise equipment and pickleball court.
Kingsport also has two parks built with BlueCross Healthy Place grant funds, the Kingsport Miracle League Complex and Riverwalk Park.
It’s a 100% grant with no matching funds required, and the application window is in August.
A splash pad was among the top priorities listed by Rogersville residents who filled out a survey three years ago as part of a statewide parks master plan project.
Although the property on which Swift Park is located belongs to the Hawkins County Board of Education, Rogersville and the county school board recently signed a 25-year lease renewal to keep Swift part of the Rogersville parks system.
“My intention is to apply for a new pavilion with restrooms, which is terribly needed, and a splash pad,” Elkins told the Parks Board on July 9. “We’ll have to update some parking. There will be some earth moving.”
The BlueCross Healthy Place grant application opens Aug. 1, and the deadline is Aug. 31.
“I give a proposal of what I’d like to do and cost estimations,” Elkins said. “They’ve got specific designs that you can choose from. Last August, I went through the steps and downloaded the application, just to see what I would need for this year. What they prefer to do is help you create a design to become what you want. It’s in their best interest to make a nice park that’s got their name all over it.
“A lot of their projects are over $1 million. I don’t know what ours would be estimated at, but once you get it they’ll jump in and start with the design work and functionality, where things will fit.”
Elkins noted that one of biggest design obstacles at Swift Park will be the elevation changes. The parking and playground are at one level and the basketball court is at a lower level.
But the biggest obstacle will be parking. If Swift Park were to feature a splash pad, the existing parking lot wouldn’t be sufficient to meet the demand for that attraction.
“That’s definitely a desirable feature that we want in this town and this community,” Elkins said. “The master plan that we worked on when I first started, (a splash pad) was one of the highest requests. What I’ve been using to plan for these improvements that we’re making was that master plan that we started three years ago, and the splash pad was very high priority.”
There is no application fee, and the Parks board agreed that a formal vote wasn’t necessary for Elkins to apply. Elkins said he will also reach out to the county school system to get its blessing for the application.
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