News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Pickett County firming up the timeline for its Bill Dance Signature Lakes feasibility study.
County Executive Stephen Bilbrey said the county was recently approved for a grant for the $105,000 project. He said the Army Corps of Engineers is looking at putting hte new boat ramps and parking lot near the Obey River Campgrounds.
“Once this feasibility study gets finished which will probably be in the later months of 2023 they’ll have a gameplan,” Bilbrey said. “And then they’ll go back to all of these organizations to come up with money to do what the feasibility study says.”
The organizations involved include TWRA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the state, and the county. Bilbrey said preliminary discussions indicate groundbreaking could occur in 2025
Bilbrey said being a Bill Dance Signature Lake is more than just getting the name of a famous fisherman attached. He said that Bill Dance wanted to see his signature lakes make improvements in the water, above the water, and its surrounding areas.
“Tourism is our number one industry so the more folks that we can bring into our community, it’s going to help every business,” Bilbrey said.
Bilbrey said the next step will be to complete the study itself, including issuing requests for proposals to do the study. He said that the county is moving in the right direction when it comes to increasing its tourism industry. Bilbrey said the goal is to make tourism a 12-month industry, rather than just seasonal.
