Cookeville City Council voted Thursday night to pay for the relocation of the TVA Transmission Tower at Jefferson Avenue and Neal Street.
City Manager James Mills said the Tennessee state legislature approved the special appropriation of $750,000 to the city. Mills said the city has already deposited $30,000 with the TVA toward the agreement.
“If it costs less, we’ll get a refund,” Mills said. “If it costs more, I’ll be back before you asking for more money to get this tower relocated.”
Mills said the current cost estimate for the work is $789,187, which the city is required to pay upfront.
Mills said the resolution passed by the council authorizes the city to receive the funds and pay TVA to move the facility.
“It’s not just any TVA tower, everybody,” Council Member Eric Walker said. “It’s the one that has a big concrete wall that gets busted down by tractor trailers, and we’re going to get a, hopefully get a new turn lane out of this that works. And so that whole area we’ve tried to improve, and this would be the final step of trying to make that traffic flow better.”
Mills said the city previously approved an agreement with the TVA in July. Mills said the final cost of the tower relocation could fluctuate as the project moves forward. Mills said the new structure is expected to be a single post with a smaller footprint than the current tower.
