News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Council member Mark Miller said he’s running for re-election because he wants to help continue the city’s trajectory of growth.
Miller said that something he hopes to continue working on is the city’s infrastructure, particularly the city’s sewer system.
“We’ve got in engineering and design right now getting the sewer system out to Tennessee Avenue,” Miller said, “Getting that sewer out to Tennessee Avenue will open up that street for commercial and industrial development that will really help increase and grow Cookeville.”
Miller said that as someone who’s lived in Cookeville his whole life, he said it’s a place where he feels safe and comfortable raising his son. He said that he wants to work with the council to ensure others in the community feel the same way.
Miller said that one thing he learned from his previous term is just how vital the city employees are to the operations of the city and to the community itself.
“Our employees are the number one thing that makes our city function so well,” Miller said. “We’ve got some really, really good employees. One of the passions of our City Manager and it’s replicated with our council is that we want to make sure we have a competitive pay for our city employees. We work really diligently in keeping up our pay rates os they’re competitive with the corporate world. Right now, wages are going up, there’s inflation throughout the United States, and keeping our employees happy is one of my number one goals, and one big thing that I’ve learned.”
Miller said that another pet project of his is the prospect of commercial activity at the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport. He said that as the city owns a quarter of the airport, commercial activity could be yet another thing that opens up Cookeville for more industrial development.
