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| Budget officials condemn decision to deny Cates grant |
By: John Brannon, Staff Reporter
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Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 8:45 pm
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By JOHN BRANNON
Staff Reporter
Obion County Budget Committee members Mon-day were swift to condemn the U.S. Department of Transportation for turning down an application for a $35 million grant for the Cates Landing riverport.
“Somebody is playing political games with northwest Tennessee,” said Obion County Mayor Benny McGuire.
The budget committee met at 9 a.m. Monday in a meeting room in the basement of the Obion County courthouse. County commissioner Danny Jowers presided; all members of the committee were present.
Grant denied
The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced approval of $1.5 billion in TIGER grants to municipalities nationwide. An application by the Northwest Tennessee Port Authority for a $35 million grant to help build Cates Landing riverport was not approved.
TIGER is an acronym for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Re-covery.
After vigorous discussion of the Cates Landing issue, county commissioner Ralph Puckett entered a motion, seconded by county commissioner Dwayne Hensley, that a letter be written and presented to the Obion County Commission at its next meeting.
The commission meets at 9 a.m. March 15 at the Obion County Public Library.
Jowers, budget committee chairman, said Obion, Dyer and Lake counties have provided about $2 million to fund construction of the new facility that will be built on an oxbow of the Mississippi River near Tiptonville.
“We put our money up in good faith that we were going to get good funding,” Jowers said. “Why in the world would we put up all this money if we knew the federal government wasn’t going to fund this thing?
“They pulled the rug out from under us because of politics. I thought this thing was about jobs. If it is the purpose of the stimulus package to create jobs, why hasn’t this application been passed? It would create 4,000 to 5,000 jobs, as opposed to funding a walking track in Indianapolis.
“There’s no contest who should have gotten a grant.”
A warning
McGuire said he was shocked when he learned the application had been denied. And he has a dire warning about the facility.
“If we don’t get some additional help, Cates Landing will be in the far-off future. I’m very disappointed,” he said
Other items
In other business, the budget committee:
• Postponed to its April meeting a report by the Hudgins Road Study Committee. “The report has to come back through this committee,” Jowers said. “The committee can add to, take away (from it) and forward it to the full commission (for up or down vote).”
County commissioner Jerry Grady said the study commission has met one time and the county commission has asked for an alternate plan.
“That’s why we are going to meet in full committee and see if there’s any other alternative plan,” Jowers said.
• Approved a resolution authorizing Obion County to apply for a state grant in the amount of $5,000 to be used to purchase emergency equipment for the Obion County Health Department. No local matching funds are required.
• Approved a request from Sheriff Jerry Vastbinder for budget transfers: $5,000 from line item 189, salaries and wages, and transferred to line item 451, uniforms. No new money is involved. Also, $1,000 from line item 187, full pay, and transferred to line item 709, data processing. And $2,500 from line item 187, overtime pay, and transferred to line item 710, food service equipment.
• Amended the debt service fund by $3,165. Jowers said the county paid off a variable rate note and was refunded $3,290. And there was a $125 refund on another transaction. The matter was approved and forwarded to the county commission for up or down vote.
• At the request of Obion County Director of Schools David Huss, amended the school budget by $130,000. “These funds are not new funds,” Huss said. “At the beginning of the year when we were looking at our budget, these funds were budgeted in our federal funds and did not come before the county commission.
“We later found that $130,000 of these funds were supposed to be in our general purpose school fund.”
• Approved a resolution opposing unfunded state-imposed local government mandates.
Published in The Messenger 3.3.10
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