News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Pickett County has received a $1.9 million grant to pay for the renovation and expansion of the former Methodist church on Highway 111.
County Executive Stephen Bilbrey said the county will be moving its senior center into the building and using the rest of the facility as office space. Bilbrey said everyone working for the county is currently struggling for space as all they are all sharing the courthouse and community center.
“What we’re looking to do with this is is to move the senior center and most, if not all, the offices at the community center out to the new building on 111 when we get it renovated,” Bilbrey said.
Bilbrey said the county would then move many of the people working in the courthouse to the vacant community center. Bilbrey said he hopes to get into the design phase of the project by next April.
“Somewhere at the end of January ’25, first part of February we’ll get the contract, let our county attorney look over,” Bilbrey said. “If everything looks good we’ll get it signed, get it sent back to the state. The state will then in turn sign it and sent us a fully executed contract back and then we should be able to move forward after that.”
Bilbrey said the grant has a $250,000 match the county will have to pay in order to use the it. Bilbrey said the work will make all of the spaces affected much more user-friendly.
“Pickett County, we don’t have a whole lot of space,” Bilbrey said. “Don’t have a whole lot of buildings that we own and operate and everybody’s just running on top of each other.”
Bilbrey said the church was donated to the county in 2023 with the intention of using the building as a senior center. Bilbrey said the senior center will have its own telehealth room for locals to use.
