News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Celina’s lack of an engineer having an impact on two current projects, a major paving project and needed repairs for the water system.
Celina Mayor Luke Collins told Aldermen Tuesday night he has spent over a year working to bring engineers to town. Collins said engineers are needed to survey East Lake Avenue before repaving the street. Collins said the water system is also becoming a challenge for the city.
“There’s so much work that we just have to fight to make sure that, you know, we get the attention we need,” Collins said. “There’s obviously bigger cities and people that have bigger projects, but we just got to keep scratching and fighting and making sure we don’t fall through the cracks.”
Collins said he understands Celina is not the only city in need of engineers. Collins said all the paperwork needed to bring an engineer has been done for over two years. Moving forward, Collins said he will continue to reach out, but the “ball is now in the engineers’ court”.
“But again, it’s not just us it’s the whole state and the whole nation,” Collins said. “These engineers are just covered up, but anyway I have reinforced how important it is that we make this happen, we’ve waited long enough.”
Collins said the most beneficial course of action before repaving East Lake Avenue would be to follow Cookeville’s example by renovating the water and sewage lines beneath the roads first. He said engineers are also crucial for renovating the city’s water supply. Collins said efforts are underway locally to address the problem.
“Just get them, we want you to have the tools to be successful,” Collins said. “We don’t want to put you in a situation where you’re due for failure, we want you to have the tools you need to be successful, and if those tools are shutoff valves or check valves, you need to have them.”
