Aquatic Facility Not Dead, But Cost An Issue

The idea of a Cookeville aquatic facility is not dead but if residents want it, Mayor Laurin Wheaton said the city will have to find a way to pay for it.

Cookeville Leisure Services will apply for a grant to develop the 16 acres purchased by the city in 2022 off Old Sparta Road. At the time, the previous council said they hoped the land would be used to build what residents had voiced as their number one want: an aquatics facility, pool and water park. Wheaton said the price tag for the project turned out to be beyond what the city expected.

“Unfortunately, you know the bids came back for how much that park was going to cost and it was upwards of $30 million, and when the new council came on, we kind of took a look and decided that, you know, there was some other priorities that this city needed that we thought would be a great return on investment and improve the quality of life in the city of Cookeville as well,” Wheaton said.

Wheaton said she remains open to discussing the water park idea, including the land on Old Sparta Road. But she said, residents would have to understand that the funds would have to come from tax dollars.

“Everything costs a lot of money, it costs more,” Wheaton said. “We don’t have a money tree in the back of city hall and so if people want to see this happen, then yeah we would probably have to have that discussion of raising taxes,” Wheaton said. “And so if that’s something, you know, people want, I want to hear from our citizens.”

And Wheaton added, the price tag would certainly two years later be higher than $30 million, based on inflation.

Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said Friday the plan under consideration now for the land would include a playground, picnic shelter, trails, parking, restrooms and hopefully a splashpad. Wheaton said she thought the land would be big enough to do both. She added the current plan is just part of submitting to Blue Cross Blue Shield for a grant.

“We don’t know if we’re going to get the grant,” Wheaton said. “This is just part of the process for applying for the grant. And so, you know, that’s where we are right now with it. A lot could change in the time from, you know, what we’re doing now to then, so we’ll just see what happened. I just love the fact that we have a piece of land that we can utilize for a lot of things.”

Wheaton said the council’s priorities during this term really turned toward fixing infrastructure, including water, sewer, roads, and sidewalks. At the same time, construction costs for all projects have escalated dramatically, meaning less dollars available for any kind of capital project. Wheaton said the council also wanted to raise employee pay.

Some have speculated the lack of movement on the water facility had more to do with it being a priority of former Mayor Ricky Shelton, and animosity that existed with Shelton.

“No, not at all,” Wheaton said. “You know, at the time that we discussed, you know, earmarking the money for a water park, that was something that the previous council, you know, myself included, thought, you know, if the, if the time was right and the money was right, it would be a great opportunity. We had a great meeting with our finance director, Brenda Imel. She sat down with us and she showed us, ‘hey, this is how much money the city has. This is how much we already have dedicated to projects. This is how much we need for more projects.’ And to be honest, the money really wasn’t there. And so we, like I said, took what we had, knew our borrowing capacity, and went ahead and applied it to things that really, for the city of Cookeville, needed to happen first.”

Leisure Services will host a public meeting to discuss the new city park Thursday at City Hall. Residents are invited to attend the meeting and express opinions and ask questions. Wheaton said if residents want a water facility, they should speak up.

“I want to hear everyone’s opinion,” Wheaton said. “I want to hear what you want from this city. I can’t guarantee that I can always deliver on it because my job is to make the decisions that are best for the entire city of Cookeville. And that is what I try to do. And I feel like this council does every single time. But we want to hear what you have to say and what you’d like to see done. And I ask people to come and have that discussion. But at the same time, realize that when we’re making decisions for the city, we have done our due diligence, we have done our research.”

“The idea for the water park is definitely still there. It’s something that we continue to discuss.”