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Construction has begun at the temporary consolidated health department at 615 Wilson Ave. in Tullahoma as it begins to expand its parking lot.

According to Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny, the purpose of the construction of the quasi-permanent parking lot is due to the upcoming construction project by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), expanding the intersection on Wilson Avenue. TDOT has taken two-thirds of the front parking lot of the health department.

“We’re going to have a new traffic pattern back here and build some new parking,” Matheny said.

He said the county will be working with neighboring property owners during the construction.

According to Matheny, the timeframe for the new consolidated health department to be commissioned and operational is two to two and a half years due to facing up to a six month delay caused by reviews, since ARP funding is involved with the project.

“We got all that straighten out,” Matheny said. “We issued an RFQ (request for qualifications) for architects and the Capital Outlay Committee selected Scot St. John (of St. John Engineering) from Manchester to do the architectural design. When that’s done, hopefully in four months, he will have the architectural renders to us, then we will do the same process for contractors.”

He added the expansion will provide safe parking for staff at the health department and the approximate 70 visitors the facility sees a day, and to safely get back on the road.

“That’ what we’re doing out here is planning this parking lot,” Matheny said.

Maintenance Director Rick Soucy said they will be leveling out the land to make it a manageable parking lot, and they will be changing the main entrance from the front to the back of the health department.

“We’re going to rework this back area to where it can service patients coming in and out,” Soucy said.

The parking lot expansion began with JW Kennedy surveying the area got started towards the end of August. By the end of September the county began to clear out the area with contractor Zach Harwell assisting in landscaping and grading. Soucy said they are looking at six to eight weeks for the expansion of the parking lot to be completed.

Matheny added the county commission had already appropriated the funds, and Capital Outlay members, like Commissioners Jimmy Hollandsworth and Tim Brown who were on site, and Maintenance Director Rick Soucy will be approving the step-by-step process of the new health department, located at the Joint Industrial Park on Highway 55. Brown said given his background as a facility engineer he was there to inspect and make sure everything is done correctly.

Hollandsworth, who has been a part of overseeing the health department project since the beginning, said with the inconvenience of the new highway that will hook Highway 64 to Highway 24, once the parking lot is finished and they move the entrance to the back of the facility it will make getting to health department more convenient and safe for patients. Commissioner Jackie Duncan said the health department has been an important asset to the county and it will be blessing to everybody involved.

Matheny said the budget for the 12,000 – 14,000 square-foot facility is over $5 million. The new health department will be a modern state of the art facility that will have drive-up capabilities with heating and fans.

“It’s for drive-by vaccinations, if we have another pandemic, if we have some type of emergency where we have a lot of people coming through,” Matheny said. “It’s going to be extremely modern with the latest and greatest things for delivering healthcare.”

Per Matheny, funding for the new health department comes from grants from the state of Tennessee, as well as both the liquidation from the health department located in Manchester to Manchester City Schools for $481,000 and selling the portion of the Tullahoma location’s parking lot to TDOT for $478,000.

“That money went into the overall $5.2 million budget to pay for half of it,” Matheny said.

Matheny said since the consolidation of the Manchester and Tullahoma health departments, the Tullahoma location has been able absorb and provide services that was available at the Manchester location. The only service that has changed with the department is WIC benefits, which has now been moved to the Coffee County Administrative Plaza’s Community Room on Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., located at 1329 McArthur St, in Manchester.

“Because of that traffic we went ahead and put that in CCAP until the new facility is built,” Matheny said. “It was a stressor that was easy for us to take over because it was one day a week and we have the space.”

Matheny said while they are looking at two and a half years for the new consolidated health department to be completed, he reiterated that the county has a great committee working through the steps, and corporation with the health department.

 “We understand there is some growing pains in the community, but that’s coming with all the changes we have and everybody is feeling it,” Matheny said. “A new modern facility is a blessing for all of us.”

Hollandsworth added the expansion is so there is not as an inconvenience for the next two and a half years.

“We want our folks safe. We don’t want them entering the construction zone, and we don’t want traffic jams into Cedar Lane,” Matheny said. “We are getting out ahead of all that.”

Those who need help with transportation to the health department can reach out to South Central Tennessee Area Transportation Services (SCTATS) by either calling 931-455-1787 or visit the Coffee County Senior Citizens Center at 410 N. Collins St., in Tullahoma. To ensure availability, it is recommended to give a 48 to 72 hour notice.