Cookeville is beginning the process of replacing the electrical system at City Hall.
Cookeville Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said City Hall’s electrical system is old, the same system used when the building was first opened as City Hall. Woods said the electrical system has developed issues over time.
“When we’ve had to shut down power, we have encountered some issues of getting it back on because of the age of the equipment and the switches, and so that’s why, part of why it needs to be replaced,” Woods said.
Woods said the city has consulted with an electrical engineer to design the project. Woods said the project will replace everything inside City Hall’s mechanical room.
“Replace all of the entry, the electrical entry, the panels, everything that is in the mechanical room that powers all of City Hall will be replaced in the next six months or so, depends on how long it takes all that equipment to get in,” Woods said.
Woods said the city will open bids for the project on October 2.
Woods said the project does not consist of replacing outlets or rewiring the interior of City Hall.
“This is about how power gets into the building and is managed inside the building,” Woods said. “So the equivalent of your breaker box inside your house, only it is much larger than that because it powers all of City Hall, so it’s all of that power when it comes into the building. All of that needs to be replaced, and that’s what’s happening. It doesn’t have anything to do with the wiring from those panels to offices, or to any particular area of City Hall.”
Woods said he is unsure what to expect for a project cost estimate.
