The Department works with local governments, communities and organizations throughout the Upper Cumberland to help develop the economic potential of the region. The members of the department work together as a team to help communities address opportunities for development, while providing leadership and project administration in order to best utilize these opportunities. The department seeks innovative funding sources for regional initiatives and encourages cooperation and partnerships between various regional entities in order to better serve the Upper Cumberland.
The Department provides technical assistance in the development of grant programs, oversight of regulatory compliance and general project planning.
The work of the team is done in keeping with the overall mission of the Upper Cumberland Development District, which is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the region.
Director:
Ashley Peeled
931-432-4111
apealer@ucdd.org
For more information click on funding agency click on name below:
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
Appalachian Regional Commission
Cumberland Area Investment Corporation
Economic Development Administration
Brownfields - EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
Rural Planning Organization (RPO)- UCDD contracted with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to establish two Rural Planning Organizations in the Upper Cumberland Region. The Rural Planning Organizations are responsible for transportation planning for the 14 counties in the Upper Cumberland area. The Dale Hollow RPO includes the counties of Clay, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett and Smith. The Center Hill RPO covers Cannon, Cumberland, Dekalb, Putnam, Van Buren, Warren and White counties. They are Coordinators between the county officials and the Department of Transportation, and consist of a Technical Committee and an Executive Board. The Executive Board members are the elected officials from each county, and they appoint members of the Technical Committee. For additional information please contact the RPO coordinators listed below or visit the TDOT website.
Center Hill Program Contac: Lorie Krauss
1225 South Willow Ave
Cookeville TN 38506
Phone: 931-432-4111
Fax: 931-432-6010
Email: lkrauss@ucdd.org
Dale Hollow Program Contact:
Lorie Krauss
1225 South Willow Ave
Cookeville TN 38506
Phone: 931-432-4111
Fax: 931-432-6010 x293
Email: lkrauss@ucdd.org
Local Planning In 2011, UCDD began offering direct planning assistance to local Planning Commissions by contract. While UCDD has long been active in planning at the state and regional level, providing staff planners to attend local meetings and provide hands-on planning and regulatory assistance is an important addition to UCDD services. UCDD planners help communities with their comprehensive plans, 1101 growth plans, parts and recreation planning, community facility and capital budgets, subdivision and zoning regulations.
Communities that are currently under contract with UCDD for planning services, and the staff planner assigned to that community are listed below:
Cannon and Smith Counties, Cities of Celina, Red Boiling Springs, Smithville, Woodbury, Carthage and Baxter: Shannon Copas
Cumberland, Fentress, DeKalb, Warren and Overton, the Cities of McMinnville, Morrison and Livingston: Tommy Lee
Van Buren County : Tommy Lee and Lorie Krauss
UCDD's local planners work closely with member governments, local economic development officials, those with environmental concerns, and other planning professionals in their field. More information on planning in the Upper Cumberland region and educational resources on community planning in general, can be found at the Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association website, and various reports issued by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
For information on UCDD's local planning program, please call Michelle Price at 931-432-4111.
