Jim Vincent
December 9th marked 100 days since Jim Vincent was sworn in as county executive of Rhea County.
“The one thing that I am most proud of is getting fiber optics for the county. I worked and got the best deal I could for the county,” said County Executive Vincent.
He was referring to the contract that Rhea County entered with Bledsoe Telephone Cooperative and Spring City Cable. He said the push to expand BTC and Spring City Cable infrastructure came when he began hearing that Spectrum was charging thousands of dollars to county residents in order to expand their fiber optic line to connect to high-speed Internet, he said.
County Executive Vincent said that in addition to the high price of fiber optic expansion, Spectrum was also operating on copper wires. The proposed contract with BTC would ensure that Internet expansion would utilize fiber optics rather than copper wiring.
He said the problem came to the front during the COVID-19 shutdown of Rhea County Schools. There were many students who did not have internet access to do school work on.
"I want the citizens of Rhea County to be proud of their government and know that we’re working for them,” County Executive Vincent said. “We’re going to have the best fiber optics in the nation for our county, from border to border.”
The project is nearing completion and will get much of the county with fiber connectivity. Bledsoe Telephone (BTC) had already got a lot of Dayton Mountain and the Summer City area connected and was working to joining with Spring City Cable in Grandview.
“I am also most proud of getting a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) grant for some $4.9 million to do work on improvement of the water districts infrastructure in the Northern park of Rhea County and $2.5 million for expansion of the Dayton Sewer System out Highway 30," he said.
The TDEC grant, which can only be used for improving existing infrastructure, is going to the Watts Bar, North Rhea and Spring City water systems.
“This will allow them to improve water lines and also allow the North end water districts to connect to each other,” he said in previous meetings.
County Executive Vincent said, “Since Dayton has a pretty good water system, it was decided to put a 12-inch main sewer line along Highway 30 to White Oak Road where a new pumping station will be built and then extending a 10-inch line out New Union Road to Double S Road and then out to the Mark Anton Airport.”
He said the current line was at its maximum limit for expansion. “This is not to bring in new customers for Dayton but to help existing ones with better service.”
County Executive Vincent said the area on Highway 30 is set to grow if it had adequate sewer system.
He also remarked about Rhea County securing a two-year option to purchase the Abel Farm along Delaware Avenue in the hopes of securing the property in the future for the construction of a state vocational school. Both the county and city put forward $25,000 each as earnest money to hold the option
“Nowhere in Rhea County can you find one large expanse of property that has three phase power, water and a sewer line,” said County Executive Vincent.
He said with both governments securing an option on the nearly 100 acres, it opens the county up in a better position to get a new vocational school. He said that the state has recently been seeking various plots of land throughout Tennessee that contain 23 acres for the purpose of constructing vocational schools. He said that when Tennessee Governor Bill Lee visited Dayton in May that the two discussed the possibility of bringing the state vocational school to Rhea County.
County Executive Vincent said that should the city and county decide to purchase the property, the state will pay for the construction of the new vocational school. If they don’t get the school, the city and county have two years to determine if they would like to purchase the property at an estimated $1 million.
He also pointed out a project where the county was able to get extra funds to work on nineroads in the county.
“If we don’t start working on some of the roads in the county above just what the gas tax provides for road work. Our roads will deteriorate, and we will constantly be patching them,” said the county executive.
He stated, “Rhea County has a bright future. We have a lot of good things going for us right now and several projects in the works. But I could not have done a lot of this without the help of the County Commission. The new Commission we have now is really interested and agreeable to work with. They listen to the facts and make great decisions. I am proud to work with them. They are very helpful in getting things done. And its all for the good of the county.”
Jim Vincent is no stranger to county government. He represented District 7 in Rhea County. He was chosen by the County Commission in November 2019 to fill the remaining term of the late Ronnie Raper and was elected as the 7th District commissioner in April 2020 to finish the rest of the four-year term.
Mr. Vincent has a long history of public service starting when he served as County Commissioner for District 1 in Hamilton County. He then served four years in the Tennessee House of Representatives serving northern Hamilton and all of Rhea County. He has served as the building inspector for the county and as project manager overseeing the construction of the new Rhea County Justice Center.