With over 100,000 participants in the Town’s Park System each year, the Collierville Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department continues to be a leader in offering its citizens a wide variety of recreational leisure time activities. The Department Management Team is responsible for the development of a complete municipal recreation program capable of meeting the cultural and recreational needs of Town Citizens, Budget Management and Analysis, Personnel Management, Short and Long-Term Planning of the Park System, and providing administrative support for the Park Advisory Board, Collierville Arts Council, Collierville Tourism Advisory Council, and the Collierville Town Beautiful Commission.

The Town of Collierville has taken a great number of steps to plan and prepare for its future recreation development. In the past decade, the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Department has produced several documents to provide guidelines for implementation of new recreational facilities and programs, culminating with the decision to develop a long-range park master plan that would encompass all areas of the town’s recreation and leisure opportunities.

The Collierville Parks and Recreation Department was established in October 1983 with the hiring of its first full-time Parks and Recreation Director. In February 1984, due to public interest in the parks and recreation program, the Board of Mayor and Alderman created the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, consisting of nine members of the community. Responsibilities of the Park Advisory Board include communicating between public officials and the general citizenship, to be a platform for new ideas, to maintain the highest quality in leadership and service, to recruit volunteers to work with park staff, and to evaluate and develop recreation priorities.

The initial step on the town’s recreation planning process occurred in October 1991, when the Parks Advisory Board, the Department Staff, and the Town Planning Department completed and adopted the Conceptual Development Plan for Projected Park and Recreation Facilities. This document was produced to guide the community’s acquisitions of future desired parkland and facilities locations and to establish projected needs and standards.

In September 1994, the Town adopted the Collierville Greenbelt Master Plan to develop a greenbelt system throughout Collierville. To accomplish this task, the Collierville Greenbelt Task Force was formed that comprised of sixteen (16) members, including representatives of the Board of Mayor & Aldermen, the Park Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Town Beautiful, Town Staff, and other private citizens. Their work was based on a linear park concept initially developed by the Memphis State University Graduate School of Planning. With consultation from Ritchie Smith & Associates, members of the task force divided the town into four (4) quadrants to determine preliminary locations for greenbelt routes and to identify points of interest, such as existing parks and schools, which might be linked by the system. The original greenbelt master plan recommended over 60 miles of trails and sidewalk connections that would encompass the entire planning region and linking neighborhoods with parks, schools, centers of trade, and employment.

In 1997, the Collierville Parks, Recreation and Cultural arts Department selected Lose & Associates, Land Planners and Landscape architects, to guide in the development of a Long Range Parks & Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan. The purpose of the master plan is to guide the preparation for current and future recreational needs of the citizens of Collierville. One of the most important steps in completing any comprehensive master plan is that of conducting public forums. On Saturday, August 23, 1997, the Citizens’ Input Committee (CIC) held a workshop to discuss the future of parks and recreation in Collierville. Twenty-six people representing the Parks Advisory Board, Athletic Associations, and a diverse mix of concerned citizens attended the workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to allow citizens a forum in which to discuss the apparent needs for improving the recreation and park services of Collierville. Participants were advised to consider the workshop as merely a starting point in a long-term process in which they must work to turn their ideas into realities. The CIC completed a Facility Development Priority Matrix that served as the basis for facility development recommendations of the Comprehensive Park Master Plan that was adopted by the Board of Mayor & Aldermen in April, 1998.

In 2001, the Town of Collierville selected Barge, Waggoner & Associates to review the existing Collierville Greenbelt Master Plan and provide specific recommendations to Update the plan. While the existing plan had guided initial development of the Collierville Greenbelt System, the factors that helped create the greenway network had changed. The population center of Collierville was shifting due to rapid development in the Southern and Western parts of the town. The relocation and redevelopment of some of the town’s civic buildings, such as Town Hall & the Library, created the opportunity for a new civic hub at Halle Park. The annexation reserve areas to the north and east of town provide areas for the future growth of Collierville. The development of the Shelby County Greenway System and the Germantown Greenbelt System created opportunities to expand our usage to a regional basis. In November, 2001, the Board of Mayor & Aldermen adopted the Collierville Greenbelt Master Plan Update.

Perhaps the single biggest contributor to the Collierville Park System was the adoption of the Park Improvement Tax by the Board of Mayor & Aldermen. In June 2001, with the adoption of the FY 2002 Tax Rate & Budget, the Board approved a $.10 tax to be dedicated for Park System Development. Projects that have been funded from this revenue source include: WCJ Baseball Complex, Peterson Lake Nature Center – Phase II, Nonconnah Regional Greenbelt Trail, WCJ Spray Park Expansion, HWC Tennis Courts Expansion, Estanaula Park Tennis Courts, and the renovation of the Harrell Theatre and Collierville Community Center..

Emphasis within the immediate future will focus on the Phased development of Hinton Park in South Collierville, continued expansion of the Collierville Greenbelt System, a expansion of an indoor recreation wing at the Collierville Community Center, and the expansion of community athletic practice facilities.

The Collierville Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Arts Department is extremely proud of our accomplishments this past year and anticipate with eagerness the challenges that await us in providing the recreational opportunities that best serve the Citizens of Collierville. We continue to be committed to presenting an overall park system that meets the expectations of its residents and provides a ‘Community for Family Living’.