Main Street engineer now TDOT approved

When the Downtown Economic Revitalization Project phase two moves forward, it will be full steam ahead with a TDOT-approved engineer.

James C. Hailey Company has been added to TDOT?s list of approved engineers. The wait was necessary for netting the city an extra $243,750 onto the existing $975,000 grant.

After city elected officials finally decided on giving the contract to Hailey back in January, the signing of the contract has been on a wait-and-see situation to determine if he could get his company on the preferred list.

If the city had signed the contract before he was added to the list, McMinnville would have received the grant minus the extra money. Now that the company is on the list, McMinnville will receive the extra funds, bringing the total to $1.21 million which will pay the full price of engineering costs.

Although this wait and see is over, the city is still in a wait-and-see situation concerning its $600,000 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant. The grant and all its requirements must be completed and submitted by Hailey before the deadline, which is in October. The city missed the last grant cycle.

To receive the grant, projects must address four goals identified by ARC in its strategic plan and that can demonstrate measurable results.

? Increase job opportunities and per capita income in Appalachia to reach parity with the nation.

? Strengthen the capacity of the people of Appalachia to compete in the global economy.

? Develop and improve Appalachia?s infrastructure to make the region economically competitive.

? Build the Appalachian Development Highway System to reduce Appalachia?s isolation.

Only time will tell if Hailey?s company can compile the necessary paperwork to convince ARC that the second phase of McMinnville?s downtown revitalization project meets all their qualifications.