Cross Plains Accepts $500,000 Utility Infrastructure Improvements Grant
CROSS PLAINS, TENNESSEE, (Smokey Barn News) – Last Thursday night the city of Cross Plains commission voted in favor of accepting a $500,000 TDEC grant that is administered through the Robertson County government.
The grant falls under a $3,573,428 water infrastructure grant awarded to Robertson County. Back in June of 2023, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced 131 grants totaling $299,228,167 from the state’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) fund, part of which TDEC is administering in the form of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure grants. For more on where the grant money was distributed see Smokey’s detailed report HERE.
According to the grant rules, the money must be used for utility infrastructure improvements. According to Cross Plain City Manager Chip Hellmann, the money will be used to connect Cross Plains downtown historical district to the existing sewer treatment facility near I-65. This facility is owned and operated by Adenus, a private utility company.
The favorable vote allows Adenus to proceed to the next step, which is to complete the engineering work and get hard bids for the project to make sure they can complete the work for the $500,000 grant that has been awarded. By law, the City cannot contribute any money to the project if the bids exceed the grant amount, Hellmann said.
