News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Overton County will take the next step in economic development through a new Property Evaluation Grant from the state.
Only three counties received the grant. Overton County Executive Steven Barlow said the county plans to use the grant for the development of a new industrial park. Barlow said the state will send experts to help identify and inspect potential properties.
“It’s a big help to be able to call upon,” Barlow said. “Them bringing their expertise to the table of what they can do and what they can offer and the help that they can bring to the county. You know, it’s just unbelievable, the help you can get from just going after it.”
Barlow said the state has already identified sites, and over the next two weeks, he will begin contacting the site owners. State economic experts and geologists will walk the properties to examine if they are right for the project.
“I identified that I don’t want it in a subdivision and things like that,” Barlow said. “They work with me on things that I kind of see and I kind of want, and I work with them on things that they need out of it as well.”
Barlow said the county put together an Economic Development Committee that will work alongside the state to identify what kind of development they will bring in, and where. The committee was trained by the Upper Cumberland Development District, Barlow said.
Barlow said the help from the state is truly priceless, in terms of opening the county up to further development.
Barlow said before receiving the grant, he took classes with the UT County Technical Assistance Service to learn more about developments like the one he is working on now.
Dekalb County also received the grant with the other going to the Tri Cities.
