The Welcome Center within the Thomas Jefferson Gardens will be open before snow falls if all goes as planned.
Tom Polking, president of the Thomas Jefferson Gardens (TJG) board, announced earlier this week that funding is in place to finish the interior of the building as was proposed by the Greene County Chamber of Commerce two years ago.
The welcome center will serve as a hub to provide information of the many attractions in Greene County and Jefferson, as well as a place to tell the story of Thomas Jefferson and his lasting contributions to rural life in America. Public restrooms will be an added amenity.
“We need a place to serve as a welcome center for the community. We have destinations here – we need a place to sell what we offer,” Polking said.
The Jefferson city council earlier this summer revised its policy for the use of hotel/motel tax revenue to provide up to $20,000 per year to the TJG board for the welcome center. The board learned recently that Grow Greene County will provide a total of $150,000 for the project over the next three years.
Bridge financing has been obtained to allow interior work to begin immediately. C & R Construction is doing the interior work; the company also did the exterior work that was completed in 2014.
The exterior work was done by the Chamber, with a goal of having the interior complete by 2015. The project stalled as use of hotel/motel tax revenues was debated. The Chamber board determined in February it was not in the Chamber’s best interest to continue pursuing the project.
Polking said Greene County Development Corporation director Ken Paxton was helpful in bringing the city and the TJG board together on the project. “Everyone has been very good to work with. Mike Palmer and the Jefferson city council and everyone else is on the same page to get it done right,” he said.
“There have been a lot of volunteers working hard on this project over the years, and I really appreciate all their efforts. The Chamber’s concept for a welcome center was good. A welcome center is extremely important, and we wanted a place to tell the Thomas Jefferson story,” Polking said.
He also announced that the Dean and Lois McAtee family has donated an instrument, The Duet, to the tone garden on the west side of the Thomas Jefferson Gardens. Jefferson was a music lover, making the Thomas Jefferson Gardens a fitting place for public outdoor instruments.
