Cookeville Looking To Establish Temporary Street Closure Ordinance

City of Cookeville looking to establish better procedure for its temporary street closures through a new ordinance.

City Manager James Mills said until now, street closure requests for parades or events had been given through permit. Mills said through this ordinance the current practice of a $100 refundable payment would change to a $100 non-refundable payment plus a $250 deposit.

“It takes several hours and several different people to go through these so that $100 is just to help cover the costs of all the different departments that have to go through these,” Mills said. “The police department spends quite a bit of time reviewing these, making sure they’re compliant, as does the city clerk’s office.”

Mills said as the ordinance is presented, there is the potential for fees to be waived for certain non-profits. Mills said the ordinance also requires proper notification of street closures to affected businesses. He said if this fails to occur, it could result in future request denials.

Administrative Assistant Tracy Johnson said as the city grows and events that require closures become more popular, it’s important to have an official process in place. She said there are components that can be changed, but this ordinance serves as a good start.

“What we’re trying to do is address this in a formal way,” Johnson said. “Right now we just have a permit process. This helps to put these things in place (…) Like the mayor said earlier, baby steps.”

Discussion was had about the number of requests allotted to sponsors, traffic safety requirements, and other components of the ordinance.