Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Having a new gas station there will be a welcomed alternative to the Marathon between Interstate Dr and Neal St.
I'm really excited about a new event that Algood just announced https://herald-citizen.com/stories/n...r-algood,45112. It looks like they might close down E Main Street in a similar manner to Cooking on the Square.
What do you guys think about the discussions that have been happening around the Putnam County Jail Expansion Project?
Here's somewhat of a recent recap for those unfamiliar...
It seems, to a laymen like myself in hindsight, that the solution would have been to let the City take over the County Sheriff's Department Facilities. And then let the County develop a new Sheriff's Department and Jail where the new CPD facility is being built. The expected completion date on CPD HQ was Nov 2021 so maybe it's not too late for that?
It also seems like Kevin Christopher and Mark Miller are a little late to the party on this. I know they have good intentions but it seems like the ball is already moving on these projects and instead of criticizing and simply saying we shouldn't do this; they should be offering alternative actionable plans. We have an overcrowding problem at the jail and right now the only solution on the table is to vote to expand the jail.
I can certainly understand why Mark Miller and Vice Mayor Laurin Wheaton are opposed to expanding the jail's footprint downtown, but that's something they should've brought up 6 months ago when the county commission spent hours upon hours talking about it and voting on it.
As far as Mark Miller's threats to county commissioners, of course he denied making those threats. He was on 94.1 this morning, and his stammered denial sounded like a kid who just got caught cheating. He's really coming across as a loose screw.
I know it's expensive to build a parking garage, but I wish they would do that instead of continuing to buy up land near the justice center for more parking lots. The initial cost of building a parking garage is astronomical, but the long-term cost of lost property tax revenue from these parking lots is also substantial.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
I know it's expensive to build a parking garage, but I wish they would do that instead of continuing to buy up land near the justice center for more parking lots. The initial cost of building a parking garage is astronomical, but the long-term cost of lost property tax revenue from these parking lots is also substantial.
I think that you have a good idea there.
Even if the costs of a parking garage are astronomical it might still be worth it. Sheriff Farris was saying it was a cost of like 40million to expand the current jail vs 100million to build a new jail off site (not including the price of land if not already owned). The commissioners voted for the 40 million dollar option in order to "save" 60 million because some action must be taken to accommodate overcrowding. Well if there is a way to build a parking garage on lot 1 on the image without expanding the Jail too much further south that seems like it could be a good compromise for the residents of that area. A parking garage (estimated at 21.5k/ space for 800 spaces) would be about 17 more million dollars. With a total cost estimated around 57 million for jail expansion the county still "saves" 43 million+ by not building a new jail offsite.
A parking garage would surely get more use than just the jail. Whenever there are events like: Cooking on the Square, Fall FunFest, or Slide CKVL people end up parking all over the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses. A parking garage would help accommodate the growth of those events in the future.
Last edited by yellowcat123; 10-21-2020 at 11:07 AM..
Even if the costs of a parking garage are astronomical it might still be worth it. Sheriff Farris was saying it was a cost of like 40million to expand the current jail vs 100million to build a new jail off site (not including the price of land if not already owned). The commissioners voted for the 40 million dollar option in order to "save" 60 million because some action must be taken to accommodate overcrowding. Well if there is a way to build a parking garage on lot 1 on the image without expanding the Jail too much further south that seems like it could be a good compromise for the residents of that area. A parking garage (estimated at 21.5k/ space for 800 spaces) would be about 17 more million dollars. With a total cost estimated around 57 million for jail expansion the county still "saves" 43 million+ by not building a new jail offsite.
A parking garage would surely get more use than just the jail. Whenever there are events like: Cooking on the Square, Fall FunFest, or Slide CKVL people end up parking all over the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses. A parking garage would help accommodate the growth of those events in the future.
Totally agreed. But I doubt it'll happen anytime soon although I think it should. Oh well.
Does anyone know what business is going in on Tennessee Ave next to the Academy Sports distribution center? The city rezoned 7.6 acres for heavy manufacturing. Obviously that's not enough land for a large factory, but it's large enough for something that could be substantial.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
The County Commissioners are getting ready to make a decision on how to best sell the current fairgrounds site and begin building the new fairgrounds site off of Tennessee Avenue.
Commissioners need to decide whether or not they will sell the property and postpone the county fair another(potentially two) more years. Considering we had to cancel the 2020 Putnam County Fair due to COVID I don't think people will be very happy about that.
Financially I think it makes sense to want to sell the current fairgrounds. Having more capital to complete the new fairgrounds and hopefully reducing the amount of debt the county needs to service. But I think it's hard for citizens to really form an opinion without seeing the numbers on PROs vs CONs of what sort of impact the money from the sale of the fairgrounds would make towards completing the new fairgrounds. What is the estimated cost of building the new fairgrounds? ext.
It's not like the fair really directly makes a lot of money (their usual profit is around 10k and it usually goes to funding next years activities). But it would also be nice to know what sort of indirect economic impact the fair makes through local sales tax and bringing visitors in. It wouldn't really be wise to postpone a tax revenue generating event in a post-covid boom.
I think the county should also consider when is the best time to put the fairgrounds property up for sale.. I know that the City works with Retail Strategies to help plan economic expansions. I think the County should seek their advice on how to court customers and what time of the year is the best to sell. A lot of people in town would like to see a Target here. (Even though I think Target would probably prefer to be closer to i40 or 111).
Either way I hope the commissioners reach out to the community and make sure they get people's opinions this time. I wouldn't want to see this turn out like the Jail Expansion where they make a decision and 6 months later the UC leaders begin disagreeing about it.
What do you guys think? And looking forward... what would you even want to see replace the fairgrounds spot?
Last edited by yellowcat123; 11-12-2020 at 07:52 AM..
I have it on good authority that when county mayor Randy Porter first approached the county commission about selling the current fairgrounds--and this was long before Tennessee Avenue was a thing--it was because Kroger (or a developer who works with Kroger) wanted to buy it for a Kroger Marketplace which is double the size of the existing Kroger (which is already one of the largest Kroger stores in the state). Of course, the county couldn't just sell it without putting it out for bids or at an auction, but still it shows that there's definitely interest in using that land for large-scale retail. (Side note: I don't think Kroger is building new Marketplace stores, but I could be wrong.)
I'm of the camp that says the county should go ahead and sell the fairgrounds and fast track the new fairgrounds. Hopefully, the county will go just one more year without a county fair. I know that the fair board president is worried that going two years without a fair (this year because of covid and next year if the fairgrounds are sold) will cause the fair to lose momentum, and people will lose interest. I think it'll be just the opposite: after two years without a fair, people will show up in throngs to the new fair, particularly at a brand spanking new fairgrounds with lots of elbow room. Speaking for myself, I have zero desire to go to the fair at its current location, but I would line up to go at a new-and-improved fairgrounds where there's plenty of parking, where it's easy to get in and out, and where the facilities don't look like they're about to collapse (slight exaggeration on that last part).
The Wilson County expo center in Lebanon is dazzling, and that's what Putnam County should try to emulate albeit on a smaller scale. I've heard that it brings in a lot of money to Wilson County between their gigantic fair and all the other events it hosts throughout the year. It also now has a corporate sponsor, Farm Bureau of Tennessee, which helps offset costs. I don't think it's a stretch that a brand new expo center in fast-growing Putnam County would also be attractive for some corporate sponsor, particularly one with a large local presence like Perdue Farms, Cummins, Averitt, Academy, Portobello, etc. I'd love to see something like "the Academy Sports + Outdoors Arena" or "Perdue Farms Livestock Pavilion" etc.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
Also, there were feasibility studies about the cost of the new fairgrounds/expo center prior to purchasing the land on Tennessee Avenue. It's happening; now it's just a matter of how the County Commissioners prefer paying for its construction from land proceeds or debt.
As for Kroger Marketplace construction; Kroger infused many millions into capital investment in Middle Tennessee recently, but I'm not sure any new Marketplaces will be built from the ground up. Lebanon's store is adding 40Ksf; so, it would appear Kroger is still investing in Middle Tennessee....we'll have to wait and see about new construction for Marketplaces.
Buff City Soap, a luxury soap boutique based in Memphis, has opened a store in Cookeville. Located between Chipotle and Panera on Interstate Drive, Buff City Soap makes soaps daily and also has a "soap bar" where customers can have personalized soaps (including laundry soap) and creams custom made for them on the spot. Buff City advertises that its soaps and other products contain no animal products, detergents, or preservatives. In addition to handmade soaps and body lotions, they also make laundry detergent, bath bombs, lip balm, hair care products, and more.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
Haha....I'll admit that my eyesight isn't the best, but the first time I saw their sign here in Memphis (actually in Bartlett) I thought it read "Bluff City Soup" and told my wife we should eat lunch there!
We were by there about 8:30 AM and there was a long long line waiting to get in, presumably for some first day freebie.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
