Smithville Merchants Alliance United Against Plans for New Jail Construction Downtown

April 29, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Merchants Alliance and the Friends of Historic Downtown Smithville are taking a stand against any effort by the county to build a new jail complex on the square at the existing location.

Three downtown business owners, Randy Caldwell, Bert Driver, and Ken Fennell, expressed their opposition during the public comments period of Monday night’s monthly county commission meeting.

“I haven’t been in before to speak because I understood the county was pursuing relocating the jail outside the downtown area. That is something I was very supportive of. Now, I have come to understand that there is some momentum to keep it downtown and I am here to speak as a business owner. I am vehemently against it,” said Caldwell.

“As a resident and investor in our downtown, I have invested a lot of money and a lot of time and effort there. And as someone who has specialized in land use policies, this is a bad use for our downtown. Its not the proper use. Our biggest constraint downtown is a majority of uses down there are municipal uses. Marketing strategists will tell you for a vibrant downtown to make a maximum use of it there needs to be retail restaurants, entertainment, and uses that generate revenue within the district. A jail is not an appropriate use for that,” explained Caldwell. “However, opportunity arises from constraints. You have opportunity to convert a valuable property asset to a land use that will generate sales revenue, activate the square, and also be compatible with long term vision for the square. You have opportunity to control the future by using an RFP (request for proposal) process. You have the ability to seek a development partner that can redevelop that piece of property to a higher and better use that will be more compatible with the land uses down there. I am asking for you to be bold for our community and downtown and be visionary. Locating outside downtown will allow the opportunity for downtown to be an economic driver and revenue generator. Our future and livelihood downtown depend on that. Making smart decisions based on long term solutions. Help us thrive and continue to contribute to the community as business owners down there,” said Caldwell.

“To the commission I would like to say that we, the friends of historic downtown Smithville and the merchant’s association stand united to oppose the county commission’s proposal to build a three-story jail detention center in our downtown area,” said Bert Driver.

“Since our establishment in 1838, Smithville has thrived as a vibrant community and the location represents some of the most valuable and irreplaceable real estate in the entire county. To that point, is a jail in downtown the highest and best use? Our historic downtown generates significant tax revenue that benefits both the city and the county,” Driver continued. “Time and again we have demonstrated Smithville leads the county in tax income which underscores our vital role in the community. Yet, despite our contributions we feel that our voices have been overlooked and to our dismay there has been very little engagement with the local business community from this body of government. The millions of dollars that have been invested to revitalize our downtown by private entities speaks volume about the commitment to this community. No doubt we are all committed to this community. We urge the county commission to reconsider and seek an alternative location that would effectively serve our needs now and in the future. This proposal is nothing more than a band aid solution. It will only lead to more problems and greater expenses down the road, tonight we are here as a unified voice to say let’s work together, find a solution with the property owners downtown, and redevelop what is the gem of the Upper Cumberland,” said Driver.

“As a business owner my wife and I don’t think having a jail downtown is a great idea,” said Ken Fennell.

“I have been in construction for over 30 years. I have done several billion dollars’ worth of work. I worked for one of the largest general contractors in the United States. I advise my clients very directly on retrofits and renovations because that first number you see is a bogey. It’s a best-case scenario. It’s probably not going to be that at the end of the day. You’ll be attracted to it like a moth to a flame but it’s not going to be that. Retrofitting and bringing something that is so old and antiquated up to federal and state codes takes a lot of money. It’s a demand on the infrastructure that is already crumbling in the city. What you don’t know isn’t going to be in those bid documents because the architect and engineers are not going to pick up everything so that contactor won’t either in that hard bid,” explained Fennell. “At the end of the day they are going to raise their hand up and ask for change orders and then they are going to say we are delaying the job because we found asbestos, lead, PCBs, or something in the ground we didn’t expect. All those things will start to cause delays. The project will likely not come in on time or under budget and you’ll be wondering how you got there making that decision. I just want to caution you. You have choices here. We need to make the right choice. The can has been kicked down the road too long. Think about what is right for the future. Bringing tourism will bring dollars to the city and the county. Inmates don’t,” said Fennell.

April 28, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

A 61-year-old Hermitage man lost his life in a motorcycle crash Saturday afternoon on Highway 96 (Dale Ridge Road).

Dead is William Couch.

According to Trooper Mitchell Gibbs of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Couch was on a Kawasaki 650 when he lost control near the 9-mile marker on Highway 96 (Dale Ridge) Road at around 4:46 p.m. The bike went off the road, struck an embankment and came to rest partially in the highway and a ditch.

Couch, wearing his crash helmet, was lying near the motorcycle. He was taken by ground ambulance to a helicopter landing zone and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital where he died. Couch had been on the bike alone but his riding partner on another motorcycle ahead of him turned around and discovered the crash after he glanced back and didn’t see Couch.

April 28, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

It may have to wait!

Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker’s request for the city to purchase a new fire engine to replace the department’s oldest truck in the fleet, a 2001 model (Engine 2) may get put on hold for now.

During Thursday night’s city budget workshop with the aldermen, Mayor Josh Miller said he wanted more than one option for buying a new fire engine, especially with the one being requested by the chief, a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper currently priced up to $1,248,449. With the possibility of the city going in the red anyway by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year, Mayor Miller said the purchase of this particular fire engine would add to the overspending and put the city in the hole by as much as $1.5 million for the year. If this fire truck is included in the new budget, Mayor Miller said he would consider casting a veto if it passed with less than a veto-proof majority. Four votes are required by the aldermen to override a mayoral veto.

“If this $1.2 million (Pierce fire engine) is voted on May 5 (first reading budget ordinance) in all likelihood I’d probably veto it if it doesn’t get four votes in favor. I know Pierce is a great truck but when we have a budget we’re fixing to pass where we are going to go in the hole by $1.5 million, we might not be able to afford the best truck. I want more options if we are going to buy one this year and we can make a decision before the end of the year in December,” said Mayor Miller.

Chief Parker said in a previous budget workshop that the 2001 truck is considered an antique according to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and has been relegated by the city fire department to “reserve” status.

Although Pierce is favored most by the city fire department and may be considered by some to be the best brand, Mayor Miller said he did some checking and found that the Rosenbauer company offers a similar fire engine and its considerably cheaper that Pierce. According to Mayor Miller Cumberland and Putnam County have Rosenbauer fire engines in their fleets and are pleased with them.

“I reached out to the Cumberland County Fire Department today (Thursday) and they love that truck. I didn’t talk to the chief, but I did talk to the chief in Putnam County. They had nothing bad to say about these trucks. They said if you are looking to buy you are welcome to come to Cookeville and we will show you the truck,” Mayor Miller said.

“I have a problem with one truck (proposal), one number (cost), and three different options to pay for that truck with nothing else on the table,” said Mayor Miller. “The perception of that does not look good. I do not feel comfortable voting for something that expensive ($1.2 million) without something else to look at. I haven’t even seen specs on the one proposed. I spent most of my day Wednesday on the phone with sales reps and I talked to a guy that has sold Rosenbauer to Cumberland and Putnam County. I was trying to get (quote on Rosenbauer fire engine) as close to this other truck (Pierce) as I possibly could. The price was $819,000 and with the extra storage you are looking at around $860,000. This is a one-thousand-gallon pumper. I am not saying Rosenbauer is the truck to buy. I am saying just don’t bring me one number and not bring me more options,” he said.

The last two fire trucks purchased by the city were both purchased from Pierce. Seven years ago, the city sold its 1992 fire engine to DeKalb County for $30,000 and its still being used in the county fleet at the Austin Bottoms Station after first being stationed at Cookeville Highway and later at Belk.

“I can’t speak for Charlie (Parker) but I do know the last two trucks we bought straight up from Pierce simply because of the inside connections we have with Pierce through a couple of people on our department. The pumper you (Mayor) are talking about (Rosenbauer) is not close to Pierce,” said City Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Wright,” who addressed the mayor and aldermen at Thursday’s budget workshop in Chief Parker’s absence

“One station I talked to today (Thursday) said they liked their trucks (Rosenbauer) better than Pierce,” replied Mayor Miller. “I’m not saying that’s the truck to buy. I’m saying Pierce is not the only truck out there,” he said,

“I have talked to people who have those (Rosenbauer) and I did not get the same feedback you did,” said Deputy Chief Wright. “They were not very happy with them. But you get that, the good and bad on all of them,” he said.

According to Deputy Chief Wright the costs of new fire engines continue to climb each year, especially now with tariffs being a factor, and even updating the 2001 truck would be expensive.

“I know last year Charlie asked for another new truck and from last year to this year the truck price for basically the same truck went up $200,000 mostly because of the safety stuff on the apparatus. The oldest one we have, and the ladder truck don’t have all the safety features that the newest ones have. That’s what all goes into the prices going up. They build the specs off NFPA standards and while its not a law and you don’t have to follow them its a recommendation that just about every fire department across the nation follows,” said Deputy Chief Wright.

As for updating the 2001 engine, “Pierce gave us (fire department) a rough estimate of $650,000 but it does not cover it all in bringing the fire engine up to standards. A lot of that depends on available parts with something that old. If the pump were to go out on that truck and we have to replace it the cost would be $40,000 and the engine in that truck, they don’t even make it anymore. Its obsolete,” said Deputy Chief Wright.

“We have already recently had a few problems with it (2001 fire engine). We got on a fire scene and the interlink would not match up with the truck and it wouldn’t pump. We got it fixed but they don’t make some of that stuff anymore to replace it. They got it repaired to get it to work for now, but we had to put somebody in the driver seat, and they sat there to throttle it up to pressurize the hoses and that is not a good practice. You could really hurt somebody if they are not paying attention and mashed down on that accelerator because that pump pressure can go from 80 to 200. That could really hurt somebody on the end of that hose line. That’s one of our concerns is the safety of our people,” said Deputy Chief Wright.

However, both Mayor Miller and Deputy Chief Wright said if the city were to purchase a new fire engine, it might be a good idea to hang onto the 2001 model to use as a backup especially if it were not to sell for much money.

“We could hold onto it as a backup if we needed it,” said Deputy Chief Wright. “Right now, the status of that truck is a reserve apparatus. Its not a first out engine per se but we still run it that way sometimes because we have to. We run off the newest one (fire truck) and use it (2001 model) mostly as a pumper for water supply,” he said.

In March, Chief Parker addressed the mayor and aldermen to make his initial budget request for the new fire engine. He asked the city to purchase a Pierce Custom Enforcer PUC Pumper currently priced at $1,248,449 with a prepayment discount of $130, 143 making the city’s actual cost $1,118,305. Delivery of the new fire truck would be within 37-38 months of order date. The cost would be only for the truck itself, and not the hoses and other apparatus to equip it. The fire engine could be financed over a three-, five-, or seven-year period with interest.

Along with the factors of safety, liability, and reliability, Chief Parker said part of the reason for keeping city fire department equipment and apparatus up to date is to maintain a good Insurance Service Organization (ISO) rating so that residents and businesses are able to take advantage of lower insurance premiums.

“My purpose here tonight is to convince you to buy a truck. Engine 2 which is a 2001 model came off of first line service in 2016 and in 2021 it was a 20-year-old truck that reverted to reserve status and as of next year it will be considered an antique,” said Chief Parker. “When I think about an antique fire apparatus I think about a shiny truck in a parade or its in a museum. I don’t think about an antique fire truck being a first line apparatus that is protecting our citizens of Smithville. Its also an antique truck that my firefighters have to ride in and that also concerns me,” Chief Parker continued.

“Since this truck was manufactured in 2001 the fire truck manufacturers association which sets the standard on fire apparatus has identified 65 changes on that engine including safety changes, emission changes, and other things from cab protection to seatbelts and airbags. That’s 65 changes in 25 years. If it were one or two it wouldn’t be a big deal but with that many changes it could be a big safety concern,” said Chief Parker. “In my opinion its time for it to be replaced. ISO states that you should have a first line apparatus within 15 years of service. Anything else can be a reserve up to 25 years but then it is considered an antique. We have our trucks on a cycle so that when one starts going out, we start looking at the next one so that we don’t end up buying them all at once. We could keep this one (2001 model) as an older reserve truck, but we have to decide is having this truck as a reserve more important than the $30,000 we would get out of it. We would still have to house it, maintain it, and test it but at what point does it get to be more expensive for us if we don’t need it for a reserve,” said Chief Parker.

In addition to the 2001 fire truck, the Smithville Fire Department has in its fleet a 2018 rescue pumper and a 2012 ladder truck.

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