News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville will allocate new disaster recovery funds towards improving the sewer system in the area affected by the 2020 tornado.
Cookeville and Putnam County received $10.8 million from the Federal Government, one of three counties chosen to receive funds through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Fund. City Manager James Mills said the city of Cookeville gets just over $2 million of that money, which they will use to upgrade the Cane Creek sewer pump.
“The capacity of the Cane Creek pump station is at a point where we can’t sustain any more development in that area, or redevelopment,” Mills said. “And this pump station does serve the area off 70 all the way to Locust Grove, where many of the homes that were in the city were damaged, so upgrades to this pump station are needed.”
Mills said UCDD has agreed to assist in the preparation of a joint action plan between the city and the county. The action plan must be submitted by the end of September and will outline both projects and how the $10.8 million will be divided. Mills said the money has been divided based on damages.
“The county has proposed dividing the property by 80 percent to the county and 20 percent to the city based on the level of damage that occurred in the city versus the county,” Mills said. “We’re all aware that the county did suffer quite a bit more in property damage than did the city, although ours is very substantial.”
Mills said the grant is not competitive. The city and county will receive the funds as long as they submit an action plan that meets specifications. Mills said the county already has an idea of where their funds will go.
“It’s my understanding the county will be using their portion of the funds for construction at the fairgrounds in terms of building a facility where, uh, a shelter for people during a storm, which I think is a good use of the properties,” Mills said.
Mills said the grant is a reimbursement top grant, so the city would incur the costs upfront but would be reimbursed their portion of the money. Mills said the funds have to be expended by April of 2030. He said the city could easily do that.
