Bill Haslam
State officials announce 80 Community Development Block Grants
Oliver Springs received a $525,000 grant for sewer system improvements, and Rocky Top (formerly Lake City) received a $360,840 grant for water system improvements, Tennessee officials announced last week.
Oliver Springs and Rocky Top were among the Tennessee communities that will receive funding after Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty approved more than $28 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to help with infrastructure, health and safety projects, and downtown improvements, a press release said.
The Oliver Springs grant will be matched with $225,000 in local funding (for $750,000 in total funding), and the Rocky Top grant will be matched with $27,160 in local funding for a total of $388,000.
“Community Development Block Grants play an important role in helping communities across Tennessee prepare for future economic development opportunities and continued growth,” Haslam said. “Working with our communities in making these improvements helps bring us one step closer toward our goal to making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”
“Community development sets the stage for burgeoning economic development and when a community invests in itself, the private sector is more likely to invest in it as well,” Hagerty said. “I am pleased to see so many communities across the state eagerly taking steps not only to attract new business and encourage future growth, but also to create better living conditions for the families that reside there.”
Allocation of CDBG funds is based on priorities set at local levels where community needs are best known. The CDBG program is administered in Tennessee by the Department of Economic and Community Development.
Below is a list of communities who were awarded grants:
| Community | Project | CDBG Amount | Local Funds | Total |
| Allardt | Water System Improvements | $417,600 | $17,400 | $435,000 |
| Bolivar | Sewer System Improvements | $483,600 | $36,400 | $520,000 |
| Bradford | Sewer System Improvements | $400,000 | $43,677 | $443,677 |
| Bradley County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $525,000 | $1,050,000 |
| Carter County | Water System Improvements | $525,000 | $33,510 | $558,510 |
| Caryville | Drainage Improvements | $315,000 | $35,000 | $350,000 |
| Claiborne County | Waterline Extension | $474,849 | $41,291 | $516,140 |
| Coalmont | Housing Rehabilitation | $458,500 | $0 | $458,500 |
| Columbia | Neighborhood Revitalization | $315,000 | $51,280 | $366,280 |
| Copperhill | Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements | $226,800 | $25,200 | $252,000 |
| Crab Orchard | Fire & EMS Station | $267,000 | $33,000 | $300,000 |
| Decaturville | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $91,348 | $616,348 |
| Erin | Water System Improvements | $525,000 | $45,655 | $570,655 |
| Fentress County | Ambulance Services | $315,000 | $24,000 | $339,000 |
| Franklin County | Fire Protection | $174,240 | $23,760 | $198,000 |
| Gates | Water System Improvements | $333,260 | $3,400 | $336,660 |
| Gleason | Fire Protection | $157,500 | $0 | $157,500 |
| Grainger County | Waterline Extension | $377,200 | $32,800 | $410,000 |
| Greeneville | Water System Improvements | $427,889 | $127,811 | $555,700 |
| Greenfield | Water Treatment Plant Improvements |
$88,200 | $1,800 | $90,000 |
| Gruetli-Laager | Water Treatment Plant Improvements |
$525,000 | $5,303 | $530,303 |
| Halls | Fire Protection Improvements | $242,659 | $10,111 | $252,770 |
| Hardin County | Water System Improvements | $355,270 | $67,670 | $422,940 |
| Harrogate | Sewer Line Extension | $473,024 | $24,896 | $497,920 |
| Hohenwald | Sewer System Rehabilitation | $525,000 | $39,516 | $564,516 |
| Hornbeak | Regional Emergency Response Training Facility |
$315,000 | $116,821 | $431,821 |
| Houston County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $27,633 | $552,633 |
| Jamestown | Sewer System Improvements | $507,970 | $135,030 | $643,000 |
| Kenton | Sewer System Improvements | $398,415 | $20,969 | $419,384 |
| LaFollette | Sewer System Improvements | $524,998 | $45,652 | $570,650 |
| Lake County | Ambulance Services | $292,040 | $5,960 | $298,000 |
| Lawrence County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $45,653 | $570,653 |
| Lenoir City | Sewer System Improvements | $500,000 | $175,700 | $675,700 |
| Lewis County | Waterline Extension | $340,000 | $25,592 | $365,592 |
| Linden | Fire Protection | $315,000 | $55,588 | $370,588 |
| Madisonville | Sewer System Improvements | $524,975 | $107,525 | $632,500 |
| Manchester | Drainage Improvements | $315,000 | $55,589 | $370,589 |
| Maury County | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $85,466 | $610,466 |
| McEwen | Sewer System Improvements | $500,000 | $31,915 | $531,915 |
| McKenzie | Sewer Plant Improvements | $500,000 | $44,000 | $544,000 |
| Morgan County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $144,000 | $669,000 |
| Mosheim | Sewer System Improvements | $364,000 | $36,000 | $400,000 |
| Mountain City | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $104,000 | $629,000 |
| Mt. Carmel | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $20,000 | $545,000 |
| Mt. Pleasant | Water System Rehabilitation | $525,000 | $33,511 | $558,511 |
| New Tazewell | Housing Rehabilitation | $330,000 | $0 | $330,000 |
| Oliver Springs | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $225,000 | $750,000 |
| Perry County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $71,591 | $596,591 |
| Pickett County | Fire Station | $230,550 | $34,450 | $265,000 |
| Pikeville | Sewer System Improvements | $491,400 | $48,600 | $540,000 |
| Puryear | Sewer Plant Improvements | $122,880 | $5,120 | $128,000 |
| Red Boiling Springs | Water System Rehabilitation | $521,520 | $16,130 | $537,650 |
| Ridgely | Fire Protection | $300,000 | $0 | $300,000 |
| Ripley | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $45,653 | $570,653 |
| Rocky Top | Water System Improvements | $360,840 | $27,160 | $388,000 |
| Scott County | Sewer System Improvements | $525,000 | $33,510 | $558,510 |
| Sevier County | Waterline Extension | $392,930 | $138,056 | $530,986 |
| Sneedville | Water System Improvements | $525,000 | $34,000 | $559,000 |
| Spring City | Sewer System Rehabilitation | $353,400 | $26,600 | $380,000 |
| Sumner County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $300,000 | $825,000 |
| Tazewell | Housing Rehabilitation | $220,500 | $0 | $220,500 |
| Tiptonville | Water System Improvements | $525,000 | $0 | $525,000 |
| Townsend | Water System Improvements | $500,000 | $450,000 | $950,000 |
| Trimble | Fire Protection | $300,000 | $0 | $300,000 |
| Union County | Waterline Extension | $525,000 | $39,516 | $564,516 |
| Van Buren County | Water System Improvements | $525,000 | $52,000 | $577,000 |
| Vonore | Emergency Service Improvements |
$199,800 | $70,200 | $270,000 |
| Waverly | Water System Improvements | $500,000 | $170,000 | $670,000 |
| White County | Ambulance Services | $255,760 | $22,240 | $278,000 |
| Whitwell | Slums & Blight Elimination | $141,000 | $9,000 | $150,000 |
Below is a list of communities that were awarded CDBG commercial façade program grants:
- Celina
- Greenfield
- Jefferson City
- Martin
- Mount Pleasant
- Portland
- Ripley
- Smithville
- Sweetwater
- Waynesboro
TNECD will accept applications for the 2015 CDBG program in February, the press release said.
WK Hyatt says
Curious why Oak Ridge didn’t get one of these grants with all the sewer work we have had to do?
Ellen Smith says
The press release indicates that these grants were awarded under the federal government’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) progam. Oak Ridge is an “entitlement” city for CDBG money. This means that the city gets CDBG funding every year, but it can’t apply for special grants that are available to non-entitlement communities (and that sometimes are more generous than Oak Ridge’s annual funding). This is just an educated guess (I am a former Council member and current candidate). I don’t know if Oak Ridge was eligible for this group of grants.