City Seeks to Cap Costs of New Police Department Project

August 12, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is looking to hold spending for the new police department building to no more than $2.5 million.

The architect for the project, Wayne Oakley of Oakley Architects, LLC of Lebanon met with the Mayor and Aldermen Monday night to report that the contractor, Boyce Ballard Construction Company of Murfreesboro, has cut the cost to $2,395,749, a savings of almost $290,000 from the awarded bid price.

The aldermen had previously authorized the issuance of up to $2.7 million in bonds but Mayor Josh Miller said that can now be held to $2.5 million. That still leaves enough funds available to furnish the building after construction.

Should there be change orders, Oakley said the aldermen could authorize the mayor to approve them up to some amount, possibly not exceeding $10,000. Beyond that the aldermen would have to give their blessing. The mayor and aldermen will meet in special session Thursday, August 27 at 5 p.m. at city hall to consider making that official.

The new police department will be built on the north side of the city hall/fire department complex at Don Cantrell Street on land donated to the city.

The proposed facility will have a total roofed area of 12,800 square feet which includes a 1,400 square foot sally port. It is to encompass a front lobby, records clerk office, hallways, three holding cells, armory, conference and training rooms, offices for the chief, captain, detectives, and other officers, rooms for records, evidence, investigations, filing reports, locker room, electrical room, closets, restrooms, break room, and a sally port.

Groundbreaking is tentatively set for August 31. The contractor has 300 days to complete the project.

August 12, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A lightning strike may have been the cause of a fire Tuesday morning that destroyed a home near Center Hill Lake.

DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green said firefighters were summoned to a home at 265 Hope Cove Road off Coconut Ridge Road belonging to Stephen Smith of Cottontown. No one was home at the time. The fire was well underway by the time it was discovered and it could not be saved.

Video from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Heat from the fire caused some exterior damage to a neighbor’s home only 12 feet away.

Members of the Cookeville Highway, Short Mountain Highway, Midway, and Main Stations of the DeKalb County Fire Department responded along with other county firefighters who provided extra manpower and the fire department’s rehab team.

No one was injured.

August 12, 2020
By:

The Smithville-DeKalb County presented a Community Improvement Award to the Bill Page Ball Park for the brand-new scoreboard dedicated “In Loving Memory of Bill and Jo Ann Page.” The Bill Page Ball Park was founded in 1985 by Bill and Jo Ann Page with the help of other local volunteers. Bill and Jo Ann had such a great love for kids and the game of softball. After the sudden passing of Bill in 2014, the ballpark became even more important to Jo Ann. She continued management of the league as family members, including Jordan and Morgan Atnip, pitched in to help with the upkeep of the field.

Before Jo Ann’s passing in 2019, she had been working on getting a new scoreboard for the ballpark. She had made a request to Liberty State Bank about sponsoring the project and been in contact with a scoreboard company. After funding was approved, local artist, Dalton Vaughn, designed the “In Memory” panel to be added to the top of the scoreboard. Local businessman, Darrell Gill of Gill Automotive, donated his equipment to be used for installation and supplied the posts. Smithville Electric dug the post holes and mounted the posts.

In 2019, the DeKalb Church League Softball was reestablished with the help of Darrell Gill of Smithville Church of the Nazarene, Daniel Leslie of Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church, and Logan Cornelius of New Life United Pentecostal Church. These men had helped in years’ past in the normal kids’ season by either coaching or umpiring and now have stepped up to help continue what Bill and Jo Ann started years ago.

Bill and Jo Ann Page’s positive impact in DeKalb County will long be remembered and appreciated by the many adults and children that were touched and inspired by their giving hearts, their long-time dedication to serving others, and their love of kids and softball. For more information on the DeKalb Church League Softball schedule, see their Facebook page.

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