With Government Back Open, Sevier County Seeks Reimbursement Of Funds For National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now completely re-opened after the end of the government shutdown this week. Sevier County has led a group that has provided the funds to keep most of the park operating while the government was shutdown. Sevier County and their other partners, including Cocke County, realized how much of an economic impact the park has on the area and it was important to keep the park open while the government was shutdown, especially since October is the busiest month for the park.

Now that the government is re-opened, Sevier County says they are going to be asking for a reimbursement of the funds they spent to keep the park open. County officials say it is not a sure thing that they get the money back from the federal government, but they are going to ask.

Sevier County, Blount County, Cocke County, along with the cities of Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Pittman Center and State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Friends of the Smokies, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the group Smokies Life made up the group that kept the park open during the shutdown.