Tag Archives: Cookeville City Manager James Mills

As Cookeville continues to grow, it becomes even more important to consider how to best provide city services most efficiently. Mayor Laurin Wheaton cited the consolidation of the Planning and Codes departments into the Department of Economic and Community Development, and the merging of the Gas and Electric Departments. She said the council, along with City Manager James Mills, are ... Read More »

Cookeville will gradually implement a new city logo after using the former logo for the past 20 years. City Manager James Mills said the council wanted to ensure the new city seal was included in the logo. The logo includes the seal and reads “City of Cookeville Tennessee” in bold, red lettering. Police, Fire, and the Department of Energy will ... Read More »

Cookeville has selected a firm to the first phase of its initiative to streamline processes throughout the city’s operations. During Monday’s Council Work Session, Cookeville Finance and Accounting Director Brenda Imel said the city has chosen Soft Resources LLC. She said first, the company will check all of the city’s software processes and recommend improvements. “They are going to look ... Read More »

The original design for Cookeville’s Stevens Street widening project will undergo some slight modifications after the construction of two developments in the area. Cookeville City Manager James Mills said the design was complete but did not include the new development. Mills said once it is finished, the project will enhance one of the few direct, continuous, east-to-west routes through the ... Read More »

Cookeville City Council will vote Thursday to purchase land on Gould Drive as the new home of Fire Station Three. Cookeville City Manager James Mills said the property is approximately 1.6 acres. Mills said the seller dropped the price because the city discovered a small piece of wetlands on the property. Cookeville Fire Chief Benton Young said the increased road ... Read More »

Cookeville City Manager James Mills selected Carl Haney as the Director of the new Department of Energy. Haney has been with the Cookeville Electric Department for some 45 years and has been Director since 2019. Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton said she and the rest of the council fully support the selection. “I don’t think there’s anyone better who could do ... Read More »

Cookeville City Council will vote Thursday night to create a new Department of Energy by merging the city’s Gas and Electric Departments. City Manager James Mills told the Council during a Monday work session that the new department would operate under one Director with Operational Superintendents for the separate divisions of electric and gas. “For all intents and purposes, they’ll ... Read More »

Utility work, gas relocation and sewer work now underway on phase two of Cookeville’s 10th Street widening project. City Manager James Mills said drivers should be aware that utility work will last through the winter. The 18-month construction project will begin around March 1 on phase two between Wilson Avenue and Fisk Road. “With the completion of phase one that ... Read More »

Cookeville’s sales tax revenue took a major hit during the state’s three-month Food Sales Tax Holiday, a loss of some $500,000. City Manager James Mills said the revenue numbers from the first two months are exactly what the city had feared. Mills said that the law states that municipalities and cities like Cookeville are to be held harmless and not ... Read More »

Cookeville City Council will vote Thursday night to extend its natural gas contract, with the hope of saving the city and customers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The city first signed a 30-year contract with the Municipal Energy Acquisition Corporation and Southeast Gas Supply in 1998. Cookeville City Manager James Mills said the two companies work as a cooperative to ... Read More »