Property committee approves applying for BRAG grants to assess Singer Road property, authorizes up to $5,000 in fees

The Rutherford County Property Management Committee voted to authorize staff to apply for two BRAG grants to support environmental work at the Singer Road property and approved up to $5,000 to cover associated VAP fees.

"We have found out that there are a few what's called BRAG grants that would possibly be available for use at the Singer Road property," Eric Hennessy, the county chief of staff, said. He described a $25,000 planning grant and a $100,000 assessment grant that could be used to determine whether soil above known groundwater contamination — including soil gases — is affected, which would guide any future remediation, sale or development decisions.

Commissioner Phillips moved to apply for the grants and to bring results back to the committee; the motion was seconded and passed on a recorded roll call. The vote as recorded in the transcript was: Commissioner Davidson — yes; Commissioner Hall — yes; Commissioner Phillips — yes; Commissioner Irving — yes; Commissioner Anthony Johnson — yes; Commissioner Paul Dodd — yes; Chairman McAdoo — yes.

Hennessy said staff is not proposing to accept any BRAG award until the committee reviews terms, and he noted that the county had taken the Singer Road property off the market but retained the option to perform assessments regardless of market status. He also told the committee there is no match required for the grants, though estimated VAP-related fees would be about $5,000.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the application and return to the committee with any award notices or additional fiscal commitments needed for acceptance.