Signal Mountain May Have Water System Rate Study; Attorneys Can Apply To Replace Phil Noblett As City Attorney

  • Saturday, September 29, 2018
  • Gail Perry
Centennial wall hanging that will be displayed at City Hall
Centennial wall hanging that will be displayed at City Hall
photo by Gail Perry

The Signal Mountain Town Council began to consider selling its water system four years ago. The town owns and runs its own system and has been responsible for establishing its own water rates. There has been no rate increase passed on to consumers for the past four years, and Mayor Chris Howley said he believes that the system is not in good shape now, because the rate has not been increased during that time.

 

Several citizens spoke at a Friday afternoon meeting asking for a rate study to be done by the Municipal Technical Advisory Services (MTAS) before making any decision about raising the cost of water.

Mayor Howley said that the town has run the system and knows it and is capable of establishing the rate. He, along with City Manager Boyd Veal and Special Projects Manager Sam Green, began working on the rate last July and the numbers are accurate based on presumptions and projections, he said. The $3,000 charge for doing a study would be a waste of money, he believes.

 

City Manager Veal said if it was business as usual, he would agree, but because a sale of the system is being considered, that a rate increase should be an integral part of making the decision of whether to sell or keep the water system. If the town keeps it, it needs to know what the system would look like going forward and a study could provide some of that information.

 

MTAS is currently in the process of doing a viability study about keeping the water system. The study will also make recommendations. By the October council meeting a decision can be made about doing a rate study.

 

An ad hoc citizens committee is also researching the viability of retaining the water system. An update from the citizens group was presented by Anne Haygood. That committee is talking to other towns of the same size as Signal Mountain who have sold their water systems to find how it turned out. She said there is also a lot of technology that could save money. The option of using in house employees or contractors to work on the system is also being studied. Mayor Howley suggested that discussions also include current employees of the Signal Mountain water utility and asked Mr. Veal to make those employees available to the committee. Ms. Haygood said she hopes that their study will be complete by December.

 

Council member Brandon Anthony also has done some research by talking to former Chattanooga mayor Jon Kinsey. Mr. Kinsey told him to be careful about selling the water system to a private company such as Tennessee American which has ways to get around rate increases, he was told. Mr. Anthony also spoke to officials in a city of similar size in Indiana which is in the process of selling its system to the same company that owns Tennessee American. He said that despite more infrastructure problems, that city was offered around double what Tennessee American offered to Signal Mountain. If the town keeps the system, said Mr. Veal, other related expenses should also be taken into account, such as increasing the budget with additional personnel and wages.

 

There are positives and negatives for both of the companies bidding for the system - Tennessee American and Walden Ridge Utilities - said the mayor.  Tennessee American’s rates are lower than WRU because WRU is a reseller, functioning as a middle man, but people have complained about the quality of water from Tennessee American, even bringing in samples to show impurities in the water. Another consideration, said Mayor Howley, is that WRU has given a buy back provision where he said Tennessee American evaded the question. For a fair comparison, the additional cost of pumping water up the mountain should be added to costs related to Tennessee American, said Ms. Haygood.

 

On final reading, the council voted to change the speed limit on James Boulevard to 25 m.p.h. where it narrows past the five-way intersection. That will be the same as the other speed limits in Old Town.

 

The court schedule was also amended. It will meet twice a month not three times, on the first Tuesday and third Thursdays at 6 p.m.

 

The Request for Qualifications was finalized for hiring a new town attorney to replace Phil Noblett. A schedule of meeting dates and times was added to provide the applicants with more information. Also added was a request for best practices or ideas that the  applicant has seen in other places. The job will now be advertised for about four weeks.

 

The decision to join the small city coalition will most likely be decided by the next council with City Manager Veal’s input. Representatives from each of the participating cities will be invited to meetings with the Signal Mountain Council to discuss how the coalition has helped them.

 

The new fire station is technically complete, said Mr. Veal, and a punch list is now being made. The quality of workmanship is great, said Mr. Veal. The last change order was only the third throughout the project. And, the building has come in $19,700 under the contract price, he said. An open house and dedication will be held on Oct. 20 at 11 a.m.

 

Signal Mountain will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in April 2019. The centennial committee has been planning and publicizing all the activities that will surround the anniversary. The panel has also had a wall hanging made that announces the event. This wall hanging will be hung in the lobby of city hall. A sign will also be up at the top of the mountain in October.

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