PIGEON FORGE — Pigeon Forge leaders are debating the possibility of spending money to make money, though under the threat that not doing so might actually also cost the city some funds.

The state has awarded Pigeon Forge two grants, totaling more than $400,000, for doing work on City Park and the Riverwalk greenway. The catch is the money must be used within a certain time or it reverts to the state, and allowing it to do so would likely hurt the city’s chances of getting the grants in the future, parks and Recreation Director John Wilbanks told the City Commission Monday.

“We need to do this now,” Wilbanks said. “This is a very competitive grant process and when the time is up, it’s up. The state has been pretty good about working with Pigeon Forge on these grants, but that might not be the case if we send this money back.”

However, the question is whether the city is prepared to spend as much as $3.5 million in order to secure the grants by completing a pair of projects on municipal parks.

Among the money that might be lost is up to $225,000 for plans to completely revamp City Park. Officials several years ago developed a master plan for that work, an effort to not only make the park more of a resource to local folks, but also to help the area become something of a capital of youth sports, Wilbanks said.

That work has languished, however, as the economy has taken a downturn. During their budget debates earlier this year, city officials opted not to include any funding for the project in the current fiscal year.

“(Wilbanks) did request that but we didn’t include it,” City Manager Earlene Teaster said.

But it seems the City Commission may want to reconsider, something it opted to do in an upcoming work session. That’s because, Wilbanks explains, the work must be started now to ensure the state money isn’t lost.

“We have a deadline of Nov. 14, 2011, and then it’s gone,” he said. “In order to get everything done in time, we need to get this out for bids in May so the contractor can line up his subcontractors and get to work at the end of July or beginning of August when the leagues are done.”

Those leagues are local teams that use the baseball and softball facilities at the park. Wilbanks hopes the city will allow them to run through their seasons before the work is started, though that will mean compacting all the work related to those fields into a few months. The area would need to be done by March to allow for the leagues to start tryouts again.

The plan calls for moving the concession stands in the area, rearranging the ball fields, putting in new fencing, regrading the area, moving the light poles, constructing new restrooms and redoing picnic shelter No. 2. Doing that in one phase would likely require about $2 million, Wilbanks said.

However, the state grants require only the work be done on the shelter and the restrooms, making the picnic area handicapped accessible and repairing facilities that have fallen into such a poor state city officials have been forced to bring in portable bathrooms. That would mean a bit less than a $1.5 million project, but would also cut the amount of the state’s grant to about $140,000, Wilbanks said.

Additionally, the city has been awarded $196,500 for work on extending the Riverwalk from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). That effort has run into questions about its future recently with agreements with the developers of Belle Island Village to allow the walking trail to access their bridges and property now in limbo with the failure of that undertaking.

That money is also under threat, though not because the city is putting off the work. Rather, it’s the state’s budget crisis that may claim that cash if it’s not used or, at least, committed soon.

“We are on life support now for the two grants we have from TDOT,” Wilbanks said. “We don’t know if we’re going to have them tomorrow. All we can do is move full-speed ahead.”

That matter will also come up in the work session.

During Monday’s meeting, the group voted to approve:

A bid for janitorial services and paper supplies for the Building Maintenance Department

Purchase of a computer and software to operate the HVAC system in the Community Center and library

Acceptance of a State Operating Assistance Grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation for the Trolley Department

Purchase of a new pump for the Ridge Road lift station from Water and Waste Equipment

An agreement with Time Scape Consulting for a national register eligibility survey and a report for the Dollywood interchange project

n An agreement with S&ME for a natural resources permitting for the trolley station project

An agreement with S&ME for geotechnical services for the trolley station project

An agreement with SSR for an archaeological survey at a possible location for the new wastewater treatment plant

Reappointments and new appointments to the Tourism Advisory Board

A contract with the AV Squad for fall 2009 through spring 2010 tourism filming and production of the city’s promotional videos

Considering the location of a traffic light at the intersection of the Parkway and Music Road.

dhodges@themountainpress.com