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Fiscal Court Hears Vision for TN RiverLine Trails

Fiscal Court Hears Vision for TN RiverLine Trails
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By Bill Hughes
Mar. 25, 2019 | PADUCAH
By Bill Hughes Mar. 25, 2019 | 08:49 PM | PADUCAH
McCracken Fiscal Court heard a presentation Monday night about the vision for a new system of continuous trails along the Tennessee River.

Julie Harris of the River Discovery Center presented information about the "Tennessee RiverLine," which could become a catalyst for economic, social, and environmental impact in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky. The river's 652-mile watershed is home to more than 4.5 million residents, over half of whom live in communities along its banks. 

A diverse group of river advocates are currently building a shared vision for a continuous system of hiking, biking and on-water experiences from Knoxville to Paducah.

Commissioner Bill Bartleman said the concept is similar to that of the Appalachian Trail, which draws an estimated 2-3 million people each year. He said Paducah and other cities on the river are well-suited for this type of project.

Bartleman said, "It had a lot of tourism opportunities, and we've already got a lot of the infrastructure here. I mean, we've got the River Heritage Museum and stuff along the riverfront for people to do and walking trails. So, we've already got some of the assets here that would be a part of that."

Initial planning is being conducted with the help of the National Park Service, with other organizations joining, such as TVA, Tennessee State Parks, Tennessee Aquarium, the City of Knoxville, and Paducah's River Discovery Center. 

Commissioners unanimously passed joint resolution 2019-02 with anticipated passage by the city of Paducah on Tuesday, stating their shared support for the RiverLine project, with the intention of completing an application for participation in it. No other commitment is required at this time.


In other business, the Fiscal Court approved ordinance 2019-03 at its second reading, which would jointly create a Tax Incremented Finance District in the Downtown Riverfront Development Area. 

Commissioners also approved the hiring of three deputy jailers and the resignation of four deputy jailers at McCracken County Jail, and they also approved increasing the number of deputy jailers at the jail from 59 to 65. 

They also approved paying $4,387.50 to Align PM (Scott Darnell) for consultation work, and approved the purchase of an SUV for use by the County Judge-Executive's office. Bids were solicited from ten vendors, but only one was received - from Linwood Motors for $30,598. The vehicle will replace a retired police cruiser that had been purchased several years ago at an auction.

Sheila Johnston was also appointed to the board of the McCracken County Humane Society for a term ending in 2020.

On the Net:

Previous Story: Fiscal Court Deals with TIF, 911 Issues, Website
Tennessee RiverLine website
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