Grant for Hannah Pickett Park Playground Equipment
by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
On April 21, Monteagle city workers removed the last of the playground equipment from Hannah Pickett Park behind Monteagle City Hall.
“The equipment was condemned five or six years ago,” said Vice Mayor Tony Gilliam. In October, the city’s insurer Public Entity Partners recommended removal of the 20-year-old equipment. At the October meeting, the Monteagle City Council voted unanimously to have the equipment taken down.
“The city could be fined if we let children play on it and someone was injured,” Gilliam stressed. “The equipment was condemned and obsolete.”
According to Gilliam, the more dangerous pieces of playground equipment were removed earlier. “We had to take the rest out because children continued to play on it.”
“The Hannah Pickett Park pavilion is not affected by this [the insurance company’s directive],” said City Recorder Debbie Taylor.
Monteagle has applied for a grant to replace the playground equipment. The Southeast Tennessee Development District is serving as the grant writer. Garrett Haynes, Regional Planner, and Sam Saieed, Setbuilds Assistant Director and Grant Coordinator, are heading up the project.
“The virus has a lot held back,” Gilliam conceded. He hopes to have an update on the progress of the grant soon.
The Monteagle City Council did not meet in March and April due to Governor Lee’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order.