City

What to expect from the new Parks and Outdoors Advisory Committee

We recently shared news of who will be on the new Parks and Outdoors Advisory Committee — now, they’ve conducted their first meeting and we’re giving the inside scoop on what’s to come.

March 21, 2024 • 
Haley Bartlett
NOOGAtoday | Parks + Outdoors Advisory Committee

We sat in on the first meeting of the new advisory board — find out what we learned.

Photo by NOOGAtoday

Last month, we announced the volunteers appointed to serve in Chattanooga’s first Parks and Outdoors Advisory Committee. Now, we’re shedding some light on their first meeting + what you can expect going forward.

Need-to-knows

  • Chair | Mayoral appointed Linda Moss Mines
  • Vice Chair | District 8 resident Shelby Meeks
  • Meetings | First Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. — location TBD (all meetings are open to the public)

To get the committee acquainted with what they will do, the city’s Director of Design + Neighborhood Connectivity Blythe Bailey walked them through updates on the revitalization of our skate park, located at 1801 Reggie White Blvd.

NOOGAtoday | Skate park renderings

The committee will offer feedback on designs and proposals for projects like the skate park revitalization.

Photo by NOOGAtoday

General skate park updates

  • Funding | $1 million secured + awaiting approval for an additional $2 million (vote to take place in the summer).
  • Time frame | Projected six months for construction.
  • Park factors | Poured-in-place concrete design, not a single-use park (think: dog park, recreational class space, etc.), area for food trucks + access from 20th Street.
  • Questions from committee | Shade aspects, signage to make park less hidden, where skaters can go during construction + possible performance opportunities.

Don’t flip your board just yet — we’ll be back with more updates (and answers to the committee’s questions) in a future newsletter.

What they’re saying

  • “As the city becomes more dense [...] I think it’s really important that we make sure that there’s connection points to the existing parks and new parks that are created.” — Adam Kinsey of District 7.
  • “The idea is that anything we bring to [the] council of substantive nature comes through y’all first [...] y’all are a break, y’all are an input, y’all are a clause to make sure we have our stuff together.” — Administrator for Chattanooga’s Department of Parks and Outdoors Scott Martin
  • “We all have a vision of a better Chattanooga that is a city in a park and park that is a city.” — Linda Moss Mines