The recreation center’s MOU was reviewed on Oct. 21 at the Finance and Management Committee meeting and is expected to be presented to the City Council on Nov. 4 for approval.
DICKSON, Tenn. (WSMV) - Dickson Mayor Don L. Weiss, Jr. announced multiple new additions to the area during his speech at his annual “State of the City” address.
Mayor Weiss said the city would be getting a new aquatic/recreation center in Henslee Park, a downtown park and renovations will be made to J. Dan Buckner Park.
“Tonight, the City of Dickson will take the first official step to launch the largest single capital project in the city’s history,” Weiss said in his address. “In just a few hours, I will be presenting to the Finance and Management Committee a draft of an agreement with the Dickson County Family YMCA to manage and operate a new recreational and aquatic center to be built next to the Splash Pad and Playground in Henslee Park.”
Weiss said the city will begin the process of borrowing up to $30 million to build the recreation facility following the approval of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) by the Dickson City Council and the YMCA’s Board of Directors. The city is hoping to include an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, classrooms, wellness center, kids adventure area with playground and an early childhood learning center in the facility.
An outdoor pool is also in plans for a later phase.
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“The mayor said the new facility, splash pad, playground, dog park, disc golf course, walking trails and fishing lakes will make Henslee Park ‘one of the premier recreational facilities in Middle Tennessee,’” the city of Dickson said.
The city will build and own the facility while the YMCA will staff and operate it. The city said that people will be able to buy a membership to the YMCA or pay daily admission to the facility.
“The 45-year-old pool at Buckner Park had gotten to the point that it would have taken millions of dollars to keep it open and usage had been dropping steadily in recent history,” Weiss said. “For the last couple of years, the city was unable to keep the required number of lifeguards and had to end the season early.”
The city said its focus has been adding recreational facilities to Henslee Park while making J. Dan Buckner Park a sports facility hub.
Construction is currently underway on a $2.8 million project at Buckner Park that includes building two basketball courts, two courts for tennis and pickleball, a new playground, a pavilion with restrooms and handicapped parking and access.
The city has also been awarded $4 million for phase two of the Buckner project. “The grant requires a 50 percent local match for the project that will reconfigure some of the current ballfields to add more playing surfaces, a new concession stand and restrooms, a covered batting cage facility, another playground and more parking,” the city said.
A fire department-themed playground with a pavilion and restrooms will also be constructed soon as the city has set aside $350,000 of its 2024-2025 budget for the project. This will be behind the Dickson Fire Department Station 1 on Church Street.
The Tennsco Corporation will also be upgrading the Lester Speyer Community Recreation Complex. This comes after Dickson County High School was unable to rebuild its tennis courts, so three more will be added to the complex.
The city said this project will also include multiple additions and upgrades such as a new playground, three pickleball courts and resurfacing two basketball courts, along with the four baseball/softball fields and Tennsco Community Center.
As construction continues on the Tennsco and Buckner Park Phase I projects, no timeline has been established for the downtown park. The city will soon come up with a timeline for Phase II of Buckner Park as it received the $4 million grant on Tuesday.
The recreation center’s MOU was reviewed on October 21 at the Finance and Management Committee meeting and is expected to be presented to the City Council on Nov. 4 for approval. “Assistant City Attorney Ross Smith told the Finance and Management Committee the draft MOU has been reviewed by the Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund and once it is executed the city will start the process of borrowing up to $30 million to fund the aquatic/recreation center in Henslee Park.” the city said.
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