The Knoxville Recreation Center has dealt with its share of challenges throughout 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility was closed for most of the spring season, and since reopening, has enforced strict safety guidelines. Parks and Recreation Director Brandon Nemmers says it’s been a waiting game for the most part, and that protocols remain in place.

“We’ve tried to keep up with the governor’s proclamations the best we can, but we’re just like the general public, we don’t know until those are announced. We’re hearing it at the same time. We’ve had plans in place, we’ve kind of been ahead of the game a couple different times that she’s put things into place. We do have a mask mandate in the rec center. We ask that if you are working out or in a fitness class, you can remove your mask as long as you can maintain social distancing, we just ask that it goes back on when you’re in common areas and close to people. We put that into place before she made that mandatory. We’ve had some limits on our rooms, basically since we’ve opened, but just making adjustments as we go.”

Hear a 2020 Year in Review with Knoxville Parks and Recreation Director Brandon Nemmers on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.