Grants are helping the town of Signal Mountain go the distance to repair and update some of its recreational facilities. The town recently received word that it will get $165,000 for use at the pool, as well permission to retain the $100,000 previously awarded for updating MACC’s heating system even though plans for the money have changed.
“We had applied originally for $200,000 [for the pool],” said Town Manager Honna Rogers. “I’d much rather get a piece, and that is a big piece of it. No entity in Tennessee was fully funded this year. They had $10 million worth of submissions and $3.3 million was awarded. We’re really proud to be part of that category.”
The town will have to contribute $82,500 of its own money.
“Something like this would not be a bad thing to use the fund balance for,” Rogers said.
She said she also brainstormed with the Town Council that the swim team and recreation board help with fundraisers of their own.
“To me it seemed like a good idea to have the people who are using it the most to try and do some fundraising,” said Rogers, adding that the swim team raised $20,000 several years ago for new starting blocks.
Regardless, repairing the baby pool and re-plastering the deck will likely not occur until the end of next year’s pool season. The money must be spent within two or three years, and some work is required to start within six months of signing a construction contract, which is expected to occur in March or April.
“It’s something we’ll have to consider in the next budget,” said Rogers. “If we don’t do it in little pieces, if we do the whole project we might get a better rate than if we piecemeal it. There’s no way to do all the repairs in town [labor].”
The town has until next summer to use an ARRA grant for energy upgrades at MACC. Volkert Engineering is overseeing the town’s combined $400,000 worth of stimulus projects for a fee of $3,000.
“It’s a lot of oversight with the ARRA funds,” said Rogers. “If you mess things up you don’t get the money. In a way I think they hope someone does mess up so they can show they’re very serious with taxpayers’ dollars.”
Despite applying for the grant in order to update the boiler and heating system throughout the community center, more cost-effective uses are now being pursued. Although there was some discussion on what these should be, the money will be used for new insulation and repairing windows.
“It probably makes sense to start with that first and look at this as a way to get a down payment on a comprehensive heating system,” said Councilman Paul Hendricks.
The system originally planned costs around $162,000. The town would be required to cover the difference. Although it was originally brainstormed that the project could be done in phases to cut costs, Rogers said that would leave part of the building without heat for a year or two.
MACC Director Barb Storm noted that the system planned does not leave options for adding air-conditioning.
“As we make the envelope tighter we’re going to have to add the rest of that anyway,” she said of the other energy-saving measures. “That’s why I sort of think we’re not quite prepared now to spend $162,000 on something that’s not going to allow for expansion and not include these other points. We should probably include some of these other points first.”