Inside Simpsonville's Bustling Parks Scene with Chris Truelock

Fireworks on the Fourth of July, kids racing on Simpsonville's "Motor Speedway," and a town small enough that the Parks and Recreation Director also hops on the DJ mic. We sit down with Chris Truelock from Simpsonville Parks and Recreation to hear how a community of about 3,500 pulls off youth sports leagues, special events, and the streetscapes people rave about.

We map out what to expect for Simpsonville’s July 4th “Boom,” including the expanded schedule for America’s 250th celebration. Chris shares the behind-the-scenes logistics plus the fun stuff that'll have people from all over descending upon Simpsonville. If you're searching for July 4th activities for the family, this conversation gives you practical details and a clearer sense of what makes the day work.

Then we zoom out to the biggest story: a 125-acre land donation that will become Simpsonville’s next park. Chris explains how the city gathered resident input with a mailed survey that earned an incredible response rate, and what the community asked for most: trails, pathways, nature, scenery, playgrounds, pools, spray pads, and space to walk and run while keeping the land as natural as possible. We also talk timeline, funding, and why the city plans to build in phases, plus how the Simpsonville Farmers Market and Bobcat Farms connect kids, local food, and community gardens to the future park.

If you like local government stories with real impact, hit play, share this with a friend who loves parks and small towns, and subscribe. After listening, leave a review and tell us: what would you want in a new community park?

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🎙️ Kentucky Hidden Wonders is hosted by Janette Marson and Mason Warren and edited by Ethan Fisher. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Welcome back to Kentucky Hope and Wonders. Our guest today is Chris Trullock, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Simpsonville. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah, absolutely. So just to jump right in, can you talk a little bit about yourself, what you do, your background, how you wound up in Simpsonville, and you know, just take it away.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Sure. Well, I'm the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Simpsonville. So we manage all the programs and services that we offer through the department, as well as special events, sports leagues, et cetera, et cetera. We manage our parks and our trails and our pathways, our sidewalks. We also manage our beautiful streetscape, which should be becoming very vibrant here in the next month and a half.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

And people rave about your streetscapes in Simpsonville.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

We appreciate that because we take great pride in our streetscapes. So we moved to my wife and I and my daughter, we moved to Kentucky about 15 years ago from, and I have to say this quietly here in Kentucky, from Indiana.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

That's okay. I'm from Indiana. You're from Indiana as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

And I also went to Ayu. I went to Butler. But um I've actually been in parks uh my entire life. So I started off as a camp counselor and a lifeguard and those sorts of things. And I was able to run a bunch of at-risk youth programming uh up in uh Bloomington, Indiana, and then uh this opportunity became open. And uh my wife and I felt that the community here was unique. And I'll tell you just a quick story. What made uh this place so special for us is when we were interviewing for the job, um, when I say we, me and my wife, right? Um, we had uh looked at jobs in Cincinnati and Louisville, and Simpsonville just came up and we did a they Simpsonville asked us to come to a special event called Hal on Halloween at the local school. And when we uh approached the school, one of the little gentlemen opened the door for my wife, and she said, Thank you. And the little gentleman said, Yes, ma'am. And I knew as soon as he did that, she was sold, and this is where we were coming. So we're really happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Well, I know Simpsonville is glad to uh have you there. And people, like Jeanette said, rave about the streetscapes and everything. So that's I know that's just part of what you do. So can you talk a little bit about you know everything that the parks department, you know, has to offer as you know, from the you know, sports leagues or anything like that to kind of go into detail on that.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

Sure, yes. Um, we have uh three full timers in our parks department, and we uh hire about 12 to 14 part-timers to officiate games, run leagues, run classes, that sort of thing. So we run um currently we've just started our spring programming, which is spring soccer, t-ball, and coach pitch. Uh, we also during the fall, we run those as well. But uh in addition to that, we'll run flag football and cheerleading. And our biggest uh youth sport is basketball, being in Kentucky. So we actually run three leagues, uh separate leagues in basketball. We have a regular league, a second season, and then a summer hoops league. So yeah, hoops is uh really popular here, and it was really popular where I was from as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

But so can um anybody register? Or do you have to live in Simpsonville?

July 4th Boom Gets A New Home

SPEAKER_02 3:47

No, you do not. And I'm glad you mentioned that because we do get that question from time to time. We serve people from all over Jefferson County as well. So uh we welcome everybody to be involved in our programs, and in addition to that, um, you know, and to this, the in addition to youth sports, we've got uh our next special event coming up, which is uh one of our bigger ones, uh July 4th, the Boom, as we affectionately call the fireworks program.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

And you're doing something a little different this year, yeah, I hear.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yeah, it's uh very interesting. The thing about the the boom is it's a program that doesn't have a home. We have shot our fireworks off at Simpsol Park, the Outlet Mall on the corner of King Brook and Buck Creek. Uh, it's just never had a home. Uh, we um eventually, which we'll I'm sure we'll talk about later, we'll have a home at our new park. But uh this year we'll be going to the Outlet Mall. And thus being the 250th uh celebration for our country, uh the Outlet Mall has partnered with us and several other people to do uh about a four, maybe even five day event starting on July 3rd. So um you're gonna see not only fireworks on July 4th, and that's one thing about our fireworks show, we are always July 4th.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

That's amazing. So many people want to see fireworks on July 4th, and other places don't have it on the actual day.

Mini Motors Racing And Family Fun

SPEAKER_02 5:10

So we're just not three cheers for Simpson. I presume that. Um, you know, on July 3rd at the Atlanta Mall, you're gonna see the Painted Stone Settlers Revolutionary Encampment. That'll be from 5 to 9 on Friday. They'll also do that on uh July uh Saturday, July 4th, and 3 to 9. Um, also on July 4th, we're there a bunch of pre-events, which um is our mini motors racing. That's exciting.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Talk a little bit about that because I think everybody's gonna be interested.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

It's so cool. Um, Simpsonville is getting a motor speedway.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yay!

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Just not NASCAR like, but um mini motors racing is battery-powered racing. So we've got a lot of kids in our neighborhoods that are looking for opportunities to get out and um get in their little cars and drive. And we even have the remote controlled ones where the parent controls them.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

So these aren't the small remote control, these are like the power wheels.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

These are like, yeah, like you would purchase at Walmart. Right. Okay. And uh, so we have those classes, but we also have tricycle racing that day and foot-powered racing. So anything that's in, you know, those little little plastic cars where you where you shuffle your feet and get you going. So we'll be doing that in conjunction with our farmers market, which runs uh will be uh open on July 4th from nine to noon. But um, that's pretty interesting. We're hope uh we were hoping to get a lot of support for that event. We'll have barbecue, we'll have trophies that there's all sorts of prizes for um all of our uh contestants, but um, of course, you'll end the evening with a celebration at our fireworks show. We'll be introducing all our drivers at the fireworks program. Oh, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

So, what age is like what age does it start at?

SPEAKER_02 6:53

It's two and up. So we even have a book tricycle review.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

I have a grandson that's two who has a power wheel, and my husband and my son keep wanting to add more power. So, is there like regulations for it's stock only.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Okay, and we will be doing vehicle inspections.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Okay, I'll have to tell them that.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

So, yeah, yeah, no adjustments, but um, there are several classes and age groups, etc. So there's gonna be an opportunity for any age to participate in this event. I'm excited actually to see the adult tricycle race. That'll be that'll be fun. That'll be fun.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

That will be fun, Mason. You could like uh relive your childhood. Maybe not. I'll be there to photograph.

Encampments DJs And Parade Details

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Especially not. Oh, that's gonna say that's especially no. Um so back to the uh schedule of events at the outlet for that kind of that week. Yeah. So obviously the big the big thing is the fourth fireworks, but what else do they have planned?

SPEAKER_02 7:49

That is the big deal. So yeah, we'll we'll start off the day with our mini motors racing, and then um, of course, the revolutionary encampment. Um, also prior to the show on July 4th is the DJ party, and that is so much fun. We've got all sorts of giveaways, so you're gonna see uh a huge party in the middle of the album. All there's gonna be prizes, giveaways, and you know, the chicken dance, the hokey pokey, all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Are you DJing? I do know you're a you are a professional DJ.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Yes, I will. It's gonna be a busy day. I will be there. Oh my golly. That yeah, uh one of the drawbacks of being a small town, you just you just do it all. Mini hats. So we'll do that event. There's wagon parades, we'll march all the way up to the uh the show, which is gonna be in the parking lot there, and then we'll have another DJ party show, and we're gonna involve the adults with that as well. So uh in addition to that, you're gonna see a town crier at the outlet mall, okay, July 3rd and 4th. Uh, you're also gonna see the presentation of our colors uh from the Sons of the American Revolution on Friday, July 3rd at 2.30, and then again Saturday, July 4th at 4. Uh, Thomas Jefferson and Betsy Ross Living Statues are gonna be there.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

That'll be coming.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

That's gonna be I'm interested to see that. So that's a Friday, 2 o'clock, Saturday at noon. Uh, the Daughters of the American Revolution will do be doing complimentary photo opportunities on Friday, July 3rd at 2 30, and then again Saturday, the 4th at 3. So that in addition to all the sales and all the things that are going on at the at the shops, we're gonna be busy.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

I'm excited. So, Mason, I don't know if you remember, I signed us up for a booth that day. Yes. Surprise.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

You work you work July 4th. Put that on the calendar.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

So let you just briefly mentioned a burning question that so many of us have, and that is the new park. So um go back just a little bit. I know you took a group, including Mason, to Bloomington, Indiana, just to kind of look around. Just start talking about the initial beginnings of that and where we are now. Sure. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Sure. Umsonville, as you know, has a highly thriving parks department, which is really rare for populations of 3,500. Most towns our size do not have parks departments. What happens is your public works department uh manages your little local park that would happen to be donated by somebody and they take care of flooding and that kind of stuff. So we're very fortunate in that we we're we're doing really well in the parks end. So um we quickly outgrew our space. Uh, we've got a gymnasium, we've got ball fields, we've got athletic fields, but um, if you look at our basketball program, uh, we will have anywhere from 30 to 35 teams in our primary league. Well, try to practice and play all those on one court during the week. So it's been tough. So there's always been a huge need uh to expand. And not only athletically, um, trails and pathways and those sorts of things, that was a huge need. Now, the Simpson's done a really good job with connectivity via sidewalk. We want we want everybody to reach the center of town via sidewalk, and we're almost there. Uh, but um so so there are a lot of needs in terms of parks, trails, pathways, and athletics. Um, we've been looking, we had been looking for land for a long, long time. But uh, anybody that knows Simpsonville, it's very difficult to get land uh in or around Simpsonville. But um, my favorite resident in the whole world, Mary Gaylord. She's a good one. She's wonderful. She's also serves on our parks board and has served on the planning committee for the park as well. So she's always been really good uh to the city of Simpsville. But uh, donating 125 acres of parkland to us, known, formerly known as the Whistlestop Farm, for those of you that are local. Uh, it's a beautiful piece of property, a lot of rolling hills, some water features. Um, so the the property was perfect. It's next to next to the center of town, and um that's where we're going to solve our congestion issues in terms of our needs. Um so um after Mary had donated the land, the city commission decided to put a planning committee together. And that was uh a group of local residents that got together and they did all the research that you need to do before building a park. And the primary responsibility for them was to survey the public and find out what do you want. And what I liked about that was it put the public at the forefront. From the very beginning, the public has its stamp on this. So this park will only be successful if it's built by and for the community. So the park planning committee met for a year, and uh, we had uh taken a trip to one of my former facilities that I'd used to run up in Plovington, and we visited a few parks and uh different areas up there. Uh, we had also uh researched a bunch of other parks here locally and regionally, and um ended up sending out a resident survey to every single resident in the city of Simpsville, was mailed to them. And generally you'd like to get between five and twenty percent return um responses from your residents to get a good sample of that you you know that you know this is what they want. We ended up with 35% response rate, which is really unheard of. So we know what they said, what we know what the community wants. Good. We have a we have great confidence that we know what the community wants. Can you divulge? Yeah, wonderful. Absolutely. Um trails, pathways, nature, scenery. Um, that was priority, and uh that's very common uh across the country. That's what most people want now. Pickleball, those sorts of things will always come up. I wondered if you were gonna say the pickleball word. It didn't score as high as we thought it would, which I was kind of surprised. Um pools and spray pads, they scored high.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Wonderful.

Funding Phases And Long Timeline

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Playgrounds, play spaces. Now we're we've done really well with playgrounds. Yes, you have. We just put a brand new one in at Simpsonville Park. We are finishing phase five this year of Wishy Park, so um, they want more. So it sounds like we're gonna be building more. Um, they also wanted running and walking opportunities, and then you know, the big emphasis from that study are was keep it as natural as you can. So stay away from retaining walls, preserve some of the uh water features that are on site. Um, that's pretty much what they said. So we're excited.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

That'll be amazing. Another city that has an amazing playground is Owensboro. I don't know if you've seen there, and everything is very natural. You know, the trees and the that would be amazing. That's my two cents.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

And that is a huge playground.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

It is huge. It makes you want to be a kid again. Yeah, most definitely. So um, what's the timeline?

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Well, the part the committee completed their work. Sorry. And um, when did we complete our work? January? I think so. And delivered our report to the city commission, which was almost a little bit over a hundred pages. So they did a lot of work. And then the city just last night uh voted to uh send out a request for proposals for architectural landscaping design and engineering. So that's the next step. And that will start. We will put that RFP out in July, make a selection somewhere around October, and then we will have a master plan uh in hand within a year. Okay. We're not gonna hurry this through because we want to do it right.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Right.

Farmers Market And Bobcat Farms

SPEAKER_02 15:47

Uh, we also want to secure the appropriate funding to get it done as well. I was gonna, I was wondering funding. Yeah. There's there are a number of opportunities available. Excellent. Um, but we will be relying on donors and sponsorships as well. But um we're gonna do everything we can. Now, can we build that whole property uh together at once? No, that's not gonna happen. So you'll see it phased, and that's fine. You know, if we did a five, five phase or a three-phase project, that's fine. I can tell you that by the time we get to the third or final phase, I'll no longer be on Earth, and that's okay. It's just that's the facts. Uh, which is okay because I wish when I had gotten here, somebody before me had allowed that me an opportunity to have land available to meet what's trending now. We don't know what's going to trend in the next 20 to 50 years. So let's set aside the appropriate land for somebody to uh tackle that when that comes about. Um, but now what you will see is uh I talked about our farmer's market earlier. Right. Uh we open May 9th. Okay. That's our first day, and 9 to noon at the Wishy Pavilion. But we what you will see at this new parkland is a lot of area for uh community gardens. Um, we're gonna open up a ton of that's easy to do. We have the land, it's there. Let's do it. We also have a project called Bobcat Farms with Simpsonville Elementary School, and that is a farm that is owned and operated by the school in the city of Simpsonville, and it's produced, grown by kids and sold by kids at the farmers market.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

I love it. It is an amazing I love your farmers market anyway. I mean, you have an incredible array of vendors and homegrown things, homemade. So those people who have not been to Simpsonville for it. And so what are the hours?

SPEAKER_02 17:36

The hours are nine to noon.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

We'll start May 9th. Uh then we actually have uh 30 vendors this year, which is way more than we have ever had.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

That is that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

Yeah, so we're really excited about that. Now I will warn people when you come to farmers markets in May, don't expect us to look like Kroger. Give us time to grow the produce, but you will see a lot of you know jams and items and stuff, meats and that kind of stuff. So, you know, allow the farmers an opportunity. It's it's funny when people that aren't used to farmers markets, when they come, they look around, they want, well, where's the lettuce? Well, it's May. Right. Yeah. We'll be here soon. Or the corn. It takes a minute.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

So really, you know, back to the Bobcat Farms is we will be allotting spaces over there to grow that uh program as well. And the the unique thing about the park is the park property connects to the school property. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

That's wonderful. And I assume May 9th is a Saturday. Yes. Is it every Saturday? Every Saturday. Okay, fantastic. Wonderful. That's exciting. Simpsonville has it going on.

Fall Festival Website And Newsletter

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Hey, we're moving. Yeah. And so I know Fourth of July is probably taking up a lot of mental space right now, but looking at the rest of the year, obviously you all do a great fall festival and things like that. Can you talk about what you have planned for the rest of the year?

SPEAKER_02 18:51

Sure. The fall festival. Uh that is the second Saturday in September.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

In the past, I've been to your fall festivals, which also is amazing. Um, lots of vendors, so much wonderful local restaurants and foods. So, did you find your day? I did. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

It's going to be on Saturday, September 12th. We'll start at 8 a.m. and end anywhere between 3 and 5 p.m. that day. You know, the you know, we we talk about tourism. Right. Right. Uh, of course, that's the goal of our special events is to bring people in to see our beautiful community. But um, every special event or program that we offer is designed to benefit our local businesses. So there is always an element there to where we are pushing them in a certain direction to get to Little Mount Lavender or Weather Oaks Farms, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

So there's so many great businesses downtown in Simpsonville. There really is. Anything else coming up that we need to talk about?

SPEAKER_02 19:47

Or I mean light up Simpsonville, look out for that. That's our official tree lighting. And um, I'll I can get you the dates to a later time to that. But always keep uh updated via our website because we will throw new stuff on there all the time.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

And what's the website just in case people are looking for it?

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Simpsonvilleparks.com, parks with an S.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Okay. Okay. And can't they sign up for a newsletter that you send out? Okay. Is that on the website?

SPEAKER_02 20:13

Go to our website and just click on uh that you'd like to be keep up you'd like to be updated on future events, and we'll put you on that in that uh mailing program.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Oh, Chris, thank you so much for being here. We love everything you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

Thank you very much. I love it as well.