Nearly a quarter of the way through its budget year, the town of Walden is moving forward on opening the former McCoy property to the public.
“I think it’s probably within what we budgeted anyway so we could go ahead,” Mayor Peter Hetzler said in regards to a recently received quote for bringing the main house’s electrical system up to code. “That’s under way, and we’re trying to move along with all aspects to go ahead and continue the things we decided to do.”
Public restrooms near the main house were also budgeted; if money remains from the $400,000 earmarked, a parking lot will also be constructed.
“The parking lot has yet to be design completed,” Hetzler said. “We haven’t got that under way, but we hope to get that done quickly.”
An upcoming Waldens Ridge Utility District project to connect water lines across Miles Road may help bring about the restroom and other upgrades. The utility provider’s plans to upgrade and replace worn out pipes that are too small in the vicinity of the McCoy property could mean labor at no or a reduced cost.
Updating and increasing the size of the facility’s water line as well as adding a fire hydrant – the closest one now sits 3,000 feet away – would be helpful in its new role. Its water meter “has probably been in there 50-plus years,” according to WRUD manager Ron West.
“With their equipment they could do it in an hour,” Hetzler said of the necessary excavating, “once they’ve already got their equipment there.”
WRUD has yet to finalize its plans for the upgrades, and West noted that any community service type work on behalf of the town would have to be approved by the utility company’s board first.
The Miles Road project is part of WRUD’s long-term maintenance and improvements plan, which seeks to overhaul any pipe in its system less than 6 inches in diameter and more than 40 years old.
“I can name you 40 different roads that need to be upgraded,” West said. “We’re just upgrading as we can.”
The Miles Road project will not only correct service issues, it could mean maintaining service capabilities in the event of an emergency. It is a step toward connecting WRUD’s and the town of Signal Mountain’s water service lines, both geographically and infrastructurally speaking.
“The state has written us several times asking us to have an emergency tie-in with Signal Mountain,” West said. “We’ve been very close to being low on water a couple of times so far.”