Tag Archives: Mark Farley

Another signal of the lack of childcare in Putnam County: the most recent state child well-being report, where Putnam ranked 85th in childcare cost burden. UCDD/UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley said the two biggest issues are affordability and capacity. He said that stems from the difficulty of opening a daycare facility in general. “Work with our state partners the various ... Read More »

The Monterey Board of Aldermen passed its new fiscal year budget on first reading Monday night. However, the budget passed on just a four to three vote. Aldermen divided over $35,000 budgeted for a new position of Assistant to the Cultural Administrator. Finance Committee Chair Bill Wiggins said the position was needed to allow the Cultural Administrator to fulfill his ... Read More »

One of three UCHRA day reporting centers are operational with the first inmates enrolled in the program. The agency received $4 million last year to create three locations to rehabilitate drug offenders instead of incarcaration. Executive Director Mark Farley said the Putnam County location has two participants. “We’re very excited, because it is a very structured, evidence-based program where we ... Read More »

Upper Cumberland County Mayors gathered together Monday and Tuesday for an Upper Cumberland Human Resources Agency retreat. UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley said this is something they try to host every few years. He said the goal is to get newly-elected county mayors caught up on hot topics in the region, and hear from re-elected mayors about they treat these ... Read More »

The Town of Monterey will rebid work on the depot roof for a second time after rejecting new bids at its meeting Monday night. Mayor Nathan Walker said after bidding the work the second time, three bids came in with a $15,000 difference between the low bid and the high bid. The three bids had three different types of roofing ... Read More »

UCHRA’s Executive Director said Clay County’s scrappy, active approach gives it the opportunity to not just survive, but thrive. Mark Farley served as guest speaker at the county’s Chamber Of Commerce Annual Dinner Thursday night. The dinner included a meeting of the joint economic and community development board. Farley said the key to success includes being proactive. For example, Farley ... Read More »

The UCDD Micro-Loan program has doubled it’s original pool of money to roughly $500,000 since starting. During 2021, the program has even found a partner outside the region to offer more options to small business startups. UCDD Executive Director Mark Farley said loans up to $50,000 are now available. “We are marketing their loan programs as well, it might be ... Read More »

The UCHRA Transit system is working its way back to full strength after experiencing some staffing issues during the holiday season. Executive Director Mark Farley said the transit system was lucky that the demand was not as high. Farley said with 130 vehicles in the region on a daily basis, they have to face the pandemic’s challenges head on. “We’ve ... Read More »

The UCDD has put together a micro-loan fund to try and help small businesses get started and off the ground. UCDD Executive Director Mark Farley said this fund has helped 11 businesses grow with the micro-loan program. Farley said there are now more investment firms looking to put money into the community through loans that can be hard to obtain. ... Read More »

Upper Cumberland Public Transit could be forced to temporarily reduce service over the next several weeks because of COVID quarantines. UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley said at least ten drivers have been lost in the Cookeville office in the last several days. “We’ve got a lot of drivers, we got a lot of staff out right now,” Farley told the ... Read More »