SMYRNA, TN - Last year, a proposal to build a Rutherford County Forensics Center was presented to the Rutherford County Commission but stalled due to a lack of funding. Now, the idea is gaining renewed attention and could one day become a reality.  

If Rutherford County moves forward with the construction of a new forensics center, once opened, it would be Tennessee’s sixth forensics center to provide services in the Volunteer State… Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr noted, “It’s a huge issue.” 

A potential site for a future forensics center has already been targeted for Smyrna. There, the county owns 17-acres in the area of Weakley Lane and G Street, near the Smyrna / Rutherford County Airport... Carr said that several steps have already been taken to move the potential project forward, including funds that were set aside by the county commission to design the structure… The mayor also wants to see a future EMS station on the property, next to the proposed forensics center.

The missing key to the forensics formula is funding. Mayor Carr said he hopes to present a viable option to the county commission to pay for the forensics center in the near future… He said that grant funding could be available from the state later this year, perhaps by December…WGNS will continue to follow this potentially developing story.