The town of Signal Mountain may soon be cashing in a favor with Alexian Village. The favor: financial assistance to rehabilitate James Boulevard in return for the damage done to the road by recent Alexian construction traffic.
At the Nov. 11 regularly scheduled town meeting, the Town Council voted to rehabilitate James Boulevard to its original state - with original rails in a 38-foot-wide concrete road - and now is looking for ways to fund the possibly $700,000-plus project.
A Tennessee Department of Transportation grant will cover 80 percent of the expenses up to $638,000, said Public Works Director Loretta Hopper during the meeting. One hundred percent of anything over that amount will come out of the town's pocket.
During recent months' ongoing discussions about rehabilitating the historic roadway, residents complained that heavy trucks traveling to and from Alexian caused further damage to the road.
At the meeting, Vice Mayor Susan Robertson said Alexian executives promised in the past to help rehabilitate James Boulevard when the time came.
"We need to approach them," she said.
Since then, officials in both camps met to discuss the possibility of Alexian contributing some funding for the rehabilitation project.
In a phone interview after the meet-up, Signal Mountain Town Manager Chris Dorsey said Alexian CEO Robin Baschnagel planned to bring the matter before the assisted-living community's board of directors.
"The Alexian Brothers have enjoyed a long standing relationship with the Town of Signal Mountain and is in full support of the Town's plan to improve James Boulevard," reads a statement released by Baschnagel. "Alexian Village will continue to discuss, with town officials, opportunities to assist with the project."