News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Monterey could be prevented from applying for another facade improvement grant.
According to the state, the town can’t reapply for the grant because it has not completed work for a grant received some five years ago.
Monterey Mayor Bill Wiggins said work on the Bradley Agency and Reba’s Flower Shop never finished after the worker walked off the job on two different occasions.
“After I became mayor I wrote him a letter, asking him to come back. He came back for a little while and left again,” Wiggins said. “Those buildings are left in jeopardy and we actually have some bricks hanging.”
Wiggins said the town of Monterey actually has liability exposure because they were the contractors for the project.
“We owe those people to complete those jobs. What we are going to do is have a meeting with the property owners and other concerned parties and reach an agreement,” Wiggins said. “We are going to employ someone to finish that work and the town of Monterey will pay for that work.”
Wiggins said he hopes the town will be reimbursed by the state of Tennessee. He said the current situation puts a handicap on Monterey because it was one of the first communities in Tennessee to get one of the grants.
“We can’t reapply until we get this project completed,” Wiggins said. “On two fronts it’s imperative that we get this done because of damage to the buildings and our exposure to liability and we want to go after those grants again. They are very attractive and very much needed.”
The original person hired to conduct the project first walked off the job after some of his tools were stolen. He left a second time after the town had already paid him for the work.
Wiggins said the city attorney is following legal routs in hopes of recouping some of that money.
