News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said he sees TDEC’s revised plan to allocate ARP funding as a better solution.
Under the new plan, the county will no longer serve as a middleman in allocating funds to local municipalities. Instead, the state will allocate money directly.
“I think this is probably better,” Porter said. “I think the cities getting their own pots of money to deal with, because they own these water and sewer systems. They are city government, and they know what they need. So, I think it’s going to be easier.”
Porter said the new plan gives cities its own share to work with while the county will have $4.9 million for utility districts.
“With us with four cities and four utilities, you got eight different entities that’s going to be competing for that money and the projects,” Porter said. “Now, the cities will just file their own projects, and I will work with the four utility districts, which is a much smaller number. Those were the folks we were going to be working with to expand water across the county anyways.”
Porter said TDEC will start allowing projects to be filed sometime this spring. Porter said joint projects would be the first to be considered.
“Then after about 90 days, takes us on down to the summer, then the individual projects can be filed,” Porter said. “So, we’re looking at doing a joint project with Jackson County and the Jackson County Utility District and Baxter City and Double Springs trying to get a water line that will run down Martin Creek Road.”
Porter said the TDEC money is separate from the county’s individual ARP funding of about $15 million. So far, that money has been approved for employee stipends, some Algood water projects and a health department expansion.
