In a 4-2 vote, council voted to move the Parks and Rec Department and the street department into one department called the public works department. Street superintendent, J.J Cox will now be the manager of the new department with Public Safety/Police Chief, Don White, as overall supervisor. According to mayor Tony Aikens, the move will save the tax payers a lot of money. Bobby Johnson Sr. and newly elected councilman, James Brandon were the no votes. Johnson Sr. argued for keeping the parks dept. independent and was afraid the services they provide would suffer from combining both departments together. 

This will be the first time in 32 years that the city will not have a stand alone parks department.

Long time parks director, Steve Harrelson, left that position last month to take over the Loudon County General Sessions Court Clerk job. Harrelson was the first and only parks director the city had ever had beginning in 1987 offering just baseball and softball at that time.

Council Brandon asked if this change could for just six months to see if the new arrangement was going to work. Aikens explained that if council wasn't satisfied with the new arrangement, they could change it at any time.

I'm not sure the mayor and some of the council fully understand just what all it takes to keep all the parks operations up and running, but they may figure it out about the time spring baseball rolls around.

Hopefully the big change won't turn the Parks & Rec Department into the Parks & Wrecks Department.