Commissioners Approve Tornado Park Land Purchase

Putnam County Commissioners approved the purchase Monday night of three lots along McBroom Chapel Road for the construction of a tornado remembrance park.

County Mayor Randy Porter said the three homes at the corner of Hensley Drive were destroyed in the tornado and the homeowners chose not to rebuild.

“That’s kind of the eye of the storm I guess you would say,” Porter said. “All of the houses on that one side of the road were destroyed and it’s kind of the path it came through.”

Porter said the nearly two acres of land would cost the county some $75,000. More than $45,000 has already been donated for the creation of the park.

The county’s parks and recreation department will construct the park which will include a walking trail, playground equipment, benches and landscaping. Porter said he wanted the county to own the land to ensure the park’s upkeep.

“Just a nice little park area, it will be a peaceful place to be,” Porter said.

The land will provide a second area of greenspace in the Highway 70 corridor. Commissioners have already approved the development of the old Patton Doll House Museum. Porter said the county hoped to erect a memorial to tornado victims at that location. Porter said he hoped the McBroom Chapel park could be a source of inspiration that families in the area could use regularly without being reminded via a memorial or statue.

“I’ve had several of my constituents call me independently and say to me and request that they would like to see the commission do something like this,” Commissioner Jim Martin said.

The county hopes to dedicate the land on March 3, the first-year anniversary of the tornado. Depending on weather, Porter said the park could be completed by early summer.

Porter said the homeowners paid $62,800 for the land with two of the lots purchased more than five years ago. The purchase will be subject to due diligence.

In other business, commissioners agreed to extend paid COVID leave for county employees until March 31. The federal government did not extend the 2020 leave which provided employees up to 80 hours of paid leave. Porter said the county could use some Tennessee COVID money to pay for any outages.

Commissioners also appointed Jeff Jones as delinquent attorney for property taxes.