The Town of Franklin and Macon County have entered into an agreement that could provide the link to connect the Little Tennessee River Greenway to the Macon County Recreation Park.
The town has started the contract process to buy a 13.9-acre tract from Mainspring Conservation Trust. The property lies between Allman Drive and Siler Road, behind the Macon County Public Library and the Macon Early College campus.
Town Manager Amie Owens said the town was interested in the property because it will give them better access to lines in that area if they need to make repairs. The property will also provide the opportunity for the future Greenway extension.
Owens attended the Sept. 13 Macon County Board of Commissioners meeting to talk about the project and the proposed Memorandum of Understanding with the county. As part of the agreement, the town would pursue funding to develop the property along Cartoogechaye Creek as part of the Greenway and the county would assume responsibility for managing and maintaining it, as the county does for the remainder of the Greenway.
Once completed, the property would provide the long-awaited link between the Greenway and the county rec park.
“It’s an opportunity for the county and the town to work together on projects that were already planned. You already had the Greenway extension in your future planning,” Owens said. “This gives us the opportunity to work together to look at some more potential recreational activities and do things together, because unfortunately there have been times where we all haven’t been on the same page, so we want to work to make that happen.”
County Manager Derek Roland said he had asked the county attorney to review the agreement and he did not see any red flags. Roland said it is a better deal than what the county looked at before.
The commissioners unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding.