Cookeville To Expand Sewer Service Up Highway 70 East, Approves Tech Upgrades Two Departments

Cookeville’s Water Quality Control Department will expand sewer service up Highway 70 E near South Dry Valley Road.

Director Ronnie Kelly said that a church asked the department to be put on gravity sewer after some septic issues.

“Copperfield Development that was developed a few years ago extended the sewer about halfway up to there 270. And we’ve looked at it and can extend the sewer, and it can gravity on so we’re going to bring it up. ”

Kelly said the extension will provide sewer for approximately seven or eight other parcels that also didn’t have city sewer access. He said after receiving two bids, Madewell Construction was the lowest bid at $193,080.

Kelly said it’s fairly common for people who have their own septic tank to inquire about city sewer if they don’t feel like fixing or replacing it. He said construction on the project is expected to start in about two months.

In other business, city council approved two motions for the police department headquarters. Council approved two bids totaling $71,783 for evidence processing equipment and a $7,090 purchase of new IT equipment. Chief Randy Evans said that both items are budgeted out of the department’s FF&E funds. He said the new equipment will allow the department a more modern set-up.

“It’s pretty common in most evidence processing labs,” Evans said. “And in our old department, we just didn’t have the space for this stuff so most of that stuff was farmed out to the TBI and others. Basically, this equipment just gives our investigators and our crime-scene processing employees the ability to process evidence. And it’s not an analysis, it’s processing it and getting it ready to go to the TBI to be analyzed.”

Council also approved a $21,980 bid for new animal shelter software. Director Jennifer Tracy said that after using the software at another shelter, she knows firsthand what it can do to improve efficiency, accuracy, and accountability.

Council also moved forward with approval to purchase some 450 sanitation carts.