State Building Commission approves Upper Cumberland veterans cemetery in Sparta

The State Building Commission on Jan. 27 approved a request from the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services to advance the Upper Cumberland Veteran Cemetery project in Sparta, Tennessee, including use of a previously selected designer.

"The Tennessee Department of Veterans Services was pleased to bring forward the Upper Cumberland Veteran Cemetery project in Sparta, Tennessee," said Patrick Rice, assistant commissioner of cemetery operations, who presented the item to the commission. Rice said the project reflects 13 years of sustained grassroots effort, with volunteers from 12 counties and county governments contributing funding.

Rice told commissioners that "earlier this year, the National Cemetery Administration approved approximately $7,750,000 in federal grant funding," and said that once completed "this cemetery should serve 45,000 or more veterans and their families in the Upper Cumberland region," many of whom currently travel to Nashville or Knoxville for services. Rice asked the commission to approve moving the project forward using a previously selected designer.

Rice moved approval of the project; the presiding officer stated the motion was properly seconded and called the vote. The commission adopted the motion. The transcript records the outcome but does not provide a roll-call tally or the name of the second.

Next steps discussed by the department were limited in the meeting record to advancing design work using the previously selected designer and proceeding with the funding and implementation steps linked to the federal grant. The commission took no further action in the public record on other funding or construction timelines.