(WBIR- Jefferson County) The town of Dandridge hosted a town hall meeting to unveil the final plans for the waterfront along Douglas Lake.
Melissa Peagler, town administrator, said the town received feedback from residents on three different options for the waterfront, and the final design is a combination of all of those.
The bridge across Douglas Lake is going to be replaced, and the town started looking to change the landscape of the waterfront last October.
"We can either be reactive once it's done and figure out what we're going to do with our property, or we can be proactive and decide, hey, let's go ahead and decide the plan that we want what's best for our community in the long term," Peagler said.
The final product shows parking distributed throughout the town, an elevated civic space, a hotel and conference center, a location for a new farmers' market, hiking and biking trails, a boardwalk, boat docking spaces, an enclosed playground and splash fountains, a floating event stage, and a swimming area.
"I think the plans are heading in the right direction," Brandon Otta, a Dandridge resident, said. "I think we are looking towards the future, and I think that's what a small town needs to do in order to survive."
Thompson Engineering out of Chattanooga has been working on the plans for the area to preserve the town's historical value but help grow it for the future.
"I think once people start seeing the results from implementing the plan, slowly they'll get behind it, and they'll see that there's only good things that come with a plan and planning where you're growing," Jennifer Nichols, an architect with Thompson Engineering, said.
Peagler said they will now take the plans to the town council and start working with their partners, TDOT, TVA, and TWRA, to maximize grant opportunities for funding.
The plan is expected to take several years to complete, but Peagler said this is a step to keep the town economically viable for years to come.
"We're looking for kind of what comes first, the chicken or egg, and so we're hoping that we can get enough tourism here to keep our businesses prospering and also provide a good quality of life for the citizens that live here," she said.
