Johnson City aims to renovate Willow Springs Park

The Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department is looking to upgrade Willow Springs Park with all new playground equipment and a splash pad.The total cost is $890,251. A Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation grant awarded $445,125.50, which the city plans to match with the same amount of funds from its capital improvement project funds.Maggie Darden, planning and project manager with Parks and Recreation, said the park was singled out as a "high use" park after a 2023 assessment where they were looking at what could be improved among city parks."It's been open since 1997," she said. "So it was time to replace the playground – it had reached its lifespan for equipment. It's also been very well-loved and heavily used."Darden said the splash pad would be a totally new addition as the park has not had one before, and they are "super popular" with kids.In addition, she said they were focused on the new park equipment being accessible for anyone, regardless of physical or mental disabilities."We emphasize making all our playgrounds inclusive and accessible," she said. "The Blue Cross Blue Shield playground at Kiwanis Park is a good example. We think about those with developmental disabilities, who are left out of playground play. We want the playground to be for all, regardless of their ability. We factor that into all of our designs."The agreement to accept the grant will be brought up at Thursday's Board of Commissioners meeting, and Darden said the grant timeline would start on Dec. 22. She said it had a three-year timeline, though there was no set date on when the new park would be finished yet.