October 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 42

Member to Member
Swimming in Sustainability
in Loretto
Strategic partnerships and active community engagement returned
the joy of swimming to residents of a small Tennessee town
By Tom Doherty, LEED Green Associate

ituated five miles from the Alabama border in southern-middle Tennessee is
the quaint city of Loretto. With a population of approximately 1,800, the town
is usually quiet, but recently there's been a big splash with the opening of a
new state-of-the-art recreation space.
Through a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Office of Sustainable Practices (TDEC), Division of Recreation Educational
Services, and Croy Engineering, Loretto celebrated the opening of its new pool August
27, 2016.
Getting Started
With an aged, 25-year-old pool hampered
with failing pumps and severe leaking,
the city had no option other than to close
the former pool. After years without any
aquatic recreation opportunity, the city
was eager to develop a new facility. As
mentioned by City Administrator Keith
Smith, " We conducted a survey to gauge

the community's interests in our parks and
recreation programs. Building a new pool
was what the community requested and a
splash pad was second choice. We wanted
to build a sustainable pool and were able
accomplish this goal by working with this
incredible group of stakeholders. "
The citizens of Loretto were actively
involved as city leaders kept them en-

Loretto Pool project
partners from left to
right: Tom Doherty,
TDEC; Gerald Parish,
TDEC; Commissioner
Robert J. Martineau Jr.;
and Representative
Barry Doss.

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gaged and informed throughout the process. When city leaders began discussion of closing the pool following the
receipt of cost estimates for pool repair,
citizens turned to social media through
the " Save the Loretto City Pool " Facebook page. Because of this page, the
public was able to stay informed of city
council meetings and project updates
regarding the future of their new pool.
Citizen involvement further persuaded
the city to explore options related to
possible grants and funding for the development. By involving stakeholders
in the process, Loretto created a unified
effort for discovering the best solution.
That solution presented itself in 2014
as the city applied for a Local Parks and
Recreation Fund grant, an opportunity
offered through the Division of Recreation Educational Services. The program provides funding to eligible entities
to purchase lands for parks, natural areas, greenways and recreation facilities.
According to Director of Recreation Educational Services, Gerald Parish, " The
application noted innovative ideas of using both recyclable material and energy
efficient features. "
Parish continued: " In meeting with
Mayor Jesse Turner, his staff, the project
engineer Andy Somers of Croy Engineering and Representative Barry Doss, it was
determined to move forward with this
project. With a $250,000 Local Parks and
Recreation Fund grant and a $273,100
Office of Sustainable Practices' grant,
plus the local match of $525,000, the total

October 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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