Senator Hatcher proposes roughly $200,000 for Townsend Heritage Center sewer upgrades

Senator Hatcher presented budget amendment 161, citing code 16,634, to request roughly $200,000 to fund internal sewer upgrades and pump stations at the Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee. The request was made during a Preparation Subcommittee meeting that recessed without taking any votes.

Hatcher said the Heritage Center, on about 12.6 acres near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, serves as a museum and living-history site with an amphitheater, Appalachian village exhibits and year-round demonstrations that draw regional visitors. "The cost of the facility is around $200,000," Hatcher said, adding the site's slope requires pump stations that increase the project price.

The chair asked whether local government contributes to the center. Hatcher replied no, and clarified the amendment is intended to fund internal property sewer improvements rather than a new connection to a municipal utility. "These are just internal improvements," Hatcher said in response to a question about whether the funding would pay for a utility connection.

Committee members did not vote on the amendment. The chair told members the subcommittee will meet again Wednesday, April 8, at 1 p.m. to consider non-bill budget amendments. The meeting record shows a motion to adjourn was made at the end of the session, but no formal vote on that motion was recorded in the transcript.

The Heritage Center request was presented for consideration; the subcommittee did not take action on the amendment during this meeting.