Cookeville Takes Next Step In Planning Aquatic Center

Seven parties have submitted proposals to provide preliminary engineering and design services for Cookeville’s proposed aquatic center.

Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said the department is currently reviewing qualifications to determine the top candidates.

“Once we get through this preliminary process and this preliminary engineering, looking at sites, talking with the community, determining exactly what it is we are going to build, getting council input on all of that,” Woods said. “Then, we can actually take the next step.”

Woods said a company recommendation will be made to the city council after the review process. Woods said the selected developer would be tasked with creating a preliminary plan that explores the scope of the project and site locations.

“We evaluate these and create a matrix based on the requests that we sent out and the criteria of these requests,” Woods said. “The experience these companies have doing this type of work in similar settings and communities. We have created that matrix. We have a group of individuals who are looking at those, reviewing all seven proposals.”

Woods said the next step after this preliminary stage would to begin actual designs.

“That can take a year or more to get that completed and then construction after that,” Woods said. “So, we’re looking a ways down the road for us to have a facility that we could be utilizing.”