Commissioners revisit CIP: streetscape costs surge, public-works facility and police HQ schematic move forward

At the July 28 work session the Town of Nolensville Board of Commissioners conducted an extended review of capital improvement projects (CIP), focusing on several high-priority items: the Historic Streetscape project, a potential public-works facility (Sanford Road), schematic design for a police headquarters, and Greystone Park remediation and pedestrian-bridge installation.

Why it matters: several of the town's top CIP projects involve multi-year commitments and potentially significant local matching dollars; commissioners asked staff to provide clearer cost breakdowns and alternatives before board approval.

Historic Streetscape Commissioners were told the most recent construction estimate for the streetscape has increased substantially from earlier planning figures. The project's TIP amendment shows a right-of-way line item of roughly $1.125 million (the TIP currently documents a larger total construction estimate recently reported at about $4.2 million). Under the project's 80/20 cost-share arrangement, the town's share of the right-of-way could be roughly 20% of the announced TIP line items; commissioners asked staff to engage TDOT and the regional council (GNRC/TIP) to confirm options and whether the town can adjust scope or funding sources.

Sanford Road public-works site Commissioners discussed short-term and longer-term options to provide restrooms and work space for public-works staff. Staff noted the town owns a Sanford Road parcel with septic and suggested that ARP funding might be applied, in whole or in part, as a near-term solution to secure usable public-works space and restrooms. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate staged or temporary approaches (mobile structures, metal barns, phased construction) and to return with specific project options, estimated costs and funding sources.

Greystone Park and pedestrian bridge The board approved moving forward with environmental testing (asbestos) for the Greystone Park tennis-court area and directed staff to solicit quotes to remove the tennis courts and scarify the site depending on test results. Commissioners also supported accepting a contractor's $58,000 price to deliver and install a pedestrian bridge the contractor had constructed and stored, contingent on final scheduling and logistics.

Police headquarters schematic design Commissioners supported moving forward with schematic design for a new police headquarters; the schematic-phase proposal presented by the architect was approximately $250,000 and would evaluate single-phase and multi-phase options with cost estimates and a path to design and potential construction-manager-at-risk procurement.

Budget and next steps Commissioners asked that staff produce refined cost estimates, quantify previous town investments (especially Volkert planning costs), and identify potential fund sources (impact fees, facilities tax, ARP funds, general-fund transfers) to inform formal budget decisions. Several items will be brought back to the August meetings for review and potential inclusion in a budget amendment or CIP allocation.

Ending Board members generally favored proceeding with schematic design for the police headquarters and directed staff to pursue the Greystone Park testing and bridge installation steps while continuing to refine funding options for the streetscape and Sanford Road public-works alternatives.