McMinnville officials will receive a $13,000 grant from the state to make improvements at the Civic Center.
The grant, a 50-50 grant through the Clean Tennessee Energy Program, will be used to improve lighting and possibly exterior doors.
“On behalf of Gov. Bill Haslam, it is with great pleasure I officially announce the city of McMinnville has been selected to receive a Clean Tennessee Energy Grant in the amount of $13,000,” said Robert J. Martineau, commissioner for the Department of Environment and Conservation.
According to the notification letter from the state, grant recipients were selected through a process which gave careful consideration to projects that best met the selection criteria and expressed the greatest local need. Funding for these grant awards are from a federal court settlement of an enforcement action under the federal Clean Air Act, which resulted in a consent decree with Tennessee Valley Authority. These funds are critical in restoring and maintaining air quality in Tennessee and surrounding states.
Officials had hoped for a larger grant amount as they were looking at replacing the main high bay interior lights above the basketball court and around the perimeter balcony (88 lights total), as well as upgrading the nine double doors and two single doors around the perimeter of the building. The estimated cost of the upgrades was set at $70,000, with $50,000 of that for doors only.
A contract document for the grant will be emailed from the state to the city to be signed and returned. Once the state receives that document, an executed contract will be prepared by the state and provided to the city with materials needed to begin the project.