A roughly $2.6 million bond note from the City of Elizabethton could possibly see funding go to a variety of departments within the community, including the police department.
Elizabethton City Council held a capital funding workshop Tuesday inside Council Chambers and seemed to be in consensus of distributing the bond money to three different departments in the city — $1.5 million for Joe O’Brien improvements, $1 million for the Elizabethton Police Department with the remaining funding going toward the Elizabethton Golf Course.
The city, which recently passed its budget without a property tax increase, can use the bond note for capital expenditures which, according to Tennessee Code Annotated 9-21-105, can go toward “development, construction, equipping and improvement of public buildings and facilities for police and public safety purposes, public parks, playgrounds, ballparks and other recreational facilities” according to the official statement provided to the city.
Other projects on the capital list were brought up during the meeting, but were not lumped into the bond note due to already being part of the city’s budget.
The Elizabethton Star referenced the city’s recommendation to use a portion of the allocated funding to improve Joe O’Brien Field due to community support and the ability to produce a huge bigger attraction for residents and visitors alike.
In a follow up from Wednesday’s report, the recommended $1 million for the police department could begin paving the way for needed expansion.
In a scaled back proposal from the projected $1.4 million for the police expansion, EPD Police Chief Jason Shaw said the department would “do their best” make the funding work for necessary improvements at both facilities.
The funding would assist needed repairs at the current EPD headquarters but also begin work at the former Ritchies’ Building Warehouse, located beside the department on East F Street in downtown Elizabethton.
Shaw stated that the second floor of the warehouse could now be scaled back from office space for storage, which would eliminate the need of an elevator, to house items that need to be saved.
Funding would also go toward fixing up needed items at the current department, which Shaw added a little bit of space opened up behind the department from the Bonnie Kate Theater.
City Council praised the effort of Shaw since his promotion to Chief of Police and thanked him and the officers for their service.
The remaining portion of the funding would go toward needed improvements at the golf course, which is tentatively scheduled to be absorbed under the Parks and Recreation umbrella.
City Council cannot vote on expenditures until their August City Council meeting but are expected to meet in the coming weeks to hash out final details of how to distribute the bond note.