Here today, gone tomorrow – Driver’s license center to relocate
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To make way for a $3.94 million expansion to Motlow College, the driver’s license center will be moved in the coming months. Its adjacent water tower, which is no longer in use, will be taken down and sold for scrap metal.
Due to time constraints, the driver’s license center will likely be moved twice, at first to a temporary location and then to a permanent home. Neither the temporary or permanent locations are known at this time, according to County Executive John Pelham.
‘We’re going to help them find a temporary facility while we’re putting out to bids a new driver’s license facility,’ said Pelham. ‘This won’t have to be a new building. It could be an existing facility if it meets the specs the state of Tennessee requires. We also plan to put an office for the Tennessee Highway Patrol in that building.’
The desire to move the driver’s license center and the water tower is for both aesthetic and practical reasons.
With officials wanting to give Motlow College the glow of an institute of higher learning, the trailer-looking structure that houses the driver’s license center and the water tower are two eyesores. With the expansion, Motlow will also be in need of more room for parking.
As for the water tower, city officials had initially hoped to give it to another municipality at no cost, other than the expense required to move it. But the city hasn’t received any takers.
‘It turns out, it will cost as much to take it down and move it as it will to buy a new one,’ said McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport.
Another scenario involved moving the water tower atop Harrison Ferry Mountain as part of Warren County Utility District’s project to pump water up the mountain. However, that doesn’t appear to be a viable option either.
‘Our engineer has told us the tank on top of the mountain must be taller in order to have the proper water pressure,’ said Pelham.
According to preliminary estimates, it will cost roughly $19,000 to take down the water tower. The company will also get to keep the metal. Davenport says the $19,000 will be a city expense.
‘It will be our contribution to Motlow’s expansion,’ said Davenport.
Officials are looking at a six-month timeframe to have both the driver’s license center and the water tower removed. Motlow’s 19,304-square-foot expansion is expected to be complete in time for the fall 2008 semester.
‘The only thing we know for sure is the water tank and the driver’s center need to go,’ said Pelham. ‘The Motlow expansion is going to benefit us all. There’s no way we can go wrong with this.’