County Mayor’s Notes – July 17th, 2023

Cumberland County Commission Meeting
The July 2023 meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all Commissioners in attendance except Commissioner Dewey Walker.  The meeting was relatively brief with only four resolutions to address.

During the special recognition section of the evening, it was my pleasure to recognize Gunnery Sargent Costanza Billups with the Young Marines (pictured).  She recently attended Advanced Leadership School in San Pedro, California and placed seventh in her class out of 48! Great job Gunnery Sargent Billups.  We are very proud of you!

Resolutions
The following resolutions were considered by the Cumberland County Commission.  The sponsor of the resolution is in parenthesis.

RESOLUTION 07-2023-1 – TO ACCEPT OFFERS(S) TO PURCHASE DELINQUENT TAX

PROPERTY OWNED BY CUMBERLAND COUNTY (HOLBROOK).  The following delinquent tax properties were approved in a unanimous vote in favor of accepting the offers to purchase and will now go back on the tax rolls.

RESOLUTION 07-2023-2 – TO RELEASE BROADBAND GRANT FUNDING (FOSTER).  On January 18, 2022, the Cumberland County Commission agreed to provide a partial match for any broadband grant received from the state using state ARPA funds (COVID-19 funding).  Doing this gave the grant applicants more points in the scoring process, helping to garner success.  Around the same time, county has approved local ARPA and TDEC funds for water expansion that have totaled over $8.1 million.  More funding is likely to come for our roads in the future as well.

Due to much preparation and hard work, including the commitment to provide these matching funds, Cumberland County broadband providers received $26,579,464 in grant funding with total project buildout costs at $44,484,793 and over 8,800 address points to be served – the most of any county in the entire state of Tennessee.  You are likely seeing the fiber being pulled all across the county as a direct result of these grants.  The county match, using county ARPA funds, is just over $3,000,000.  This resolution, approved 17-0, releases those funds.

RESOLUTION 07-2023-3 – APPROVING CHANGES TO THE EQUIPMENT USE POLICY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION (MALL).  This resolution, approved unanimously, clarified language in the Parks and Recreation procedures concerning usage of county equipment.  It clarified that county equipment can only be used by county employees.

RESOLUTION 07-2023-4 – TO APPOINT MEMBERS TO THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD (FOSTER).  Greg Maxwell and Cathy Cathey were appointed to an initial three-year term, and Joe Looney was appointed for his second three-year term on the library board, in an 16-0-1 vote, with Commissioner Maxwell abstaining.

Financial Update
There is no financial report this month due to year end closing.

Thank you for being part of the solution and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your County Mayor.  If you are interested in hearing my thoughts and views on news, events, and activities in Cumberland County, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you.

Allen Foster
Cumberland County Mayor
http://allenfoster.com