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Putnam County must wait for environmental review clearances to begin work on the Sports Complex expansion.
Parks and Recreation Director John Albertson said the department met with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) officials last month.
“So far what we are doing, we are waiting on environmental clearances that we have to go through for the property prior to any work or the contract being approved,” Albertson said. “So we have, I believe, all of our environmental clearances except maybe one or two. Which we would hopefully expect to have in the next couple of weeks.”
Putnam County officials hope to begin the Sports Complex expansion this fall. (Photo: Visit Cookeville)
Albertson said various TDEC groups review the environmental studies.
“For instance, the facility used to be an old airport so there was an underground storage tank for jet fuel or airplane fuel. That is one thing that we have to have clearance on,” Albertson said. “It was removed several years ago and so that branch of TDEC responded and said, ‘yeah this has already been remediated and we have no issue at all.'”
Putnam County previously accepted a $333,500 state grant to help expand the county sports complex in Cookeville. Albertson said the county cannot use the funding until a contract is signed.
“Well, hopefully, they will be drafting contracts towards the end of the month. We are still looking like we are going to be into the bid process this summer,” Albertson said. “And hopefully, it will yield to an award this fall. We are kind of on track with that thought process at least at this point.”
The grant requires the county to complete the project within two years. Albertson said if possible, the department will work to speed up the process.
“It’s definitely really exciting that we are at least moving along with the process where we sat for some months,” Albertson said. “But we are starting to have some small gains here and there. I think we will be able to hopefully make progress really quick.”
The Sports Complex expansion involves removing a concrete slab and asphalt to build the new soccer field and create a second multi-use field.
