The Maryville Lions Club has taken over the push to create an all-inclusive playground in Blount County.
The Maryville Kiwanis Club had initially been working to fund the playground, but handed over leadership to the Maryville Lions Club.
The Lions Club is working with the Arc of the Great Smokies and the Maryville Parks and Recreation Commission to make the playground a reality.
The goal is to provide a much-needed makeover to the playground at John Sevier Park that would provide inclusion, accessibility for parents and children of all abilities, and a modern play structure to meet the needs of kids of all ages in the area.
"This is the first inclusion playground in the Blount County and Maryville City area. Our goal is to remove the current structure and build a playground that is appropriate for the diverse population," the Lions Club said.
Jane Groff with the city of Maryville said Chuck Bailey with the Maryville Lions Club presented the new plans for the playground during the Aug. 23 work session.
Groff said Bailey explained the new leadership effort under the Lions Club, presented some design concepts and talked about a potentially sizable grant being provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The Maryville city council was supportive of the effort, and said the area parks and recreation department will be working with the Lions Club on the project.
The Lions Club asked the city to be an advocate for the playground, help with signage at John Sevier Park, and fulfill some stipulations that would come with the BCBS grant, such as branding the playground as a 'Blue Cross Healthy Place.'
"The park will actually replace an existing park that the City would like to see updated. It would be a very good thing for the community," Groff said. "The only other real stipulation for the grant was to keep the park in place and maintained for 20 years."
The current timeline hopes to see the playground fully funded by Dec. 2020 so it could open in Spring 2021.
Anyone that wishes to donate to the playground can do so by visiting the Maryville Lions Club page here.