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Randy Foster/editor@cherokeescout.com Murphy resident Victoria Ivie envisions a Konehete Veterans Park full of active-use features for children and people of all ages and abilities.
Murphy – A local woman who describes herself as a “bored mom who went down the rabbit hole” has come up with plans to revitalize Konehete Veterans Park by infusing it with family friendly, active and healthy attractions.
Victoria Ivie – of the Ivie Funeral Home Ivies – calls her concept for the park “Little Blooms” and has been quietly putting in the legwork to get it done. Informed by her experiences keeping fit with her two small children in tow, Ivie seeks to make Konehete Veterans Park “a destination site through family friendly park elements rooted in health, development and inclusivity.”
She has met with town, county, state and law enforcement officials – part of the “rabbit hole” she describes – to get permissions and allies to help get grants and donations to fund the project.
And she’s making progress. The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners gave her its blessing on July 17 to go after the grants, and she told the board that Murphy town officials are responsive as well.
Her plan includes several additions:
- Musical Playground and Sand and Water Play-Site. To address the lack of sensory or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) outdoor resources for children in the area.
- Nature- and Appalachian Mountain-themed obstacle course. To address a “disconnect between our area and the targeted tourism groups that benefit from ‘the Mountains’ weekend getaway.”
- Splash Pad Park. To address the lack of water activities in the area that are free of drowning risk and provide fun activities for infants and toddlers.
- Outdoor exercise area available for free by people of all abilities and ages. To address a lack of family-oriented or inclusive fitness areas in the county.
- Expand infrastructure. This would enhance public safety by including security cameras and street lights, and installing an AED (automated external defibrillator), and broadband internet at the park.
The additions aren’t cheap; she estimates it will cost about $1.1 million. But, again, she’s seeking grants and donations to fund it.
Ivie said she is a volleyball official and travels a lot, exposing her to ideas she thinks would work at Konehete Veterans Park.
“Murphy has become a passing point for many tourists seeking mountain and scenery from the four metropolitan areas in three states,” Ivie said in a PowerPoint presentation. “We need family friendly, active options to bring in tourism and shift to a destination point.”
Local businesses and residents would be the primary beneficiaries to a regional park with high-end amenities, she said. The park today includes walking trails, picnic facilities, ball fields, ball courts and children’s playgrounds, and it ties in with the Murphy River Walk.
The Konehete Veterans Park that Ivie envisions would be a free alternative to Meeks Park in Blairsville, Ga., the public pool in Andrews, Fun Factory in Franklin and other attractions that charge money.
Cherokee County Commissioner Ben Adams, who invited Ivie to present her concept to the full board, called her project a “win-win” for the county – no cost, all the benefits, just by providing space the county already owns.
Board Chair Cal Stiles urged a more cautious approach.
“We need to look at it before we encumber the park and impede future uses,” he said, adding that he wants to see what Ivie has in mind for maintaining the park’s new additions.
“Nothing’s been done to the park in a million years,” Adams replied.
The board voted unanimously to give Ivie permission to seek the grants.
Donations can be deposited to Heritage Partners of Cherokee County's account at First Citizens Bank in Murphy or by check mailed to P.O. Box 1152, Murphy, NC, 28906.