Cookeville Considering Surplus Of SlideCKVL Slide

Cookeville City Council will consider surplusing the 1,000-foot slide used for the SlideCKVL event.

Council discussed the decision at a work session Tuesday night. Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said that there are some sections in good condition and some that are not.

“But we don’t know,” Woods said. “And part of the problem is you have to advertise the vent, plan the vent, sell the tickets and all that before you get it out and see if it works. And you have hoses that have been there through winter and summer outside.”

City Manager James Mills said they originally purchased the slide in 2016 for $57,400. He said ticket sales and event revenue have contributed to covering the cost, but the city has about $10,400 invested.

Mills said the slide and its equipment are stored in a tractor-trailer on an impound lot. Mills said the last time the slide was used was in 2019. He said they did not use it the following year because of the pandemic, and then the event was never revisited.

“That’s part of the problem,” Woods said. “There’s no place large enough, you have to tie up someplace that’s a sizeable space to be able to get it out, and roll it out and test it and all of that. It’s a 1000-foot slide so you have to have a parking lot or something that you can tie up for an extended period of time. So forklifts, extended boom forklifts, and you can get it right off of there.”

Should the city council decide to surplus, Mills said they could decide how they want to dispose of the slide and the trailer it is stored in. He said that could include via the gov deals website, accepting bids, or other avenues.

“So it’s sat there for three years and this year will be four years,” Mills said. “So we believe the best idea is to surplus it.”