October 14th, 2010
The Environmental Services Committee of the CountyCommission met on Thursday, October 14th, 2010. Several lengthy items were discussed during the duration of the approximately three hour meeting. The first items discussed were the requests for two roads, Old Winesap Road and Satsuma Drive, to be added to the county road list. Both roads were on the 1991 road list, but various questions arose concerning if the State had accepted the roads at that time and if the roads met the county standards required for acceptance. More detailed research is being conducted.
Ronnie Reese, the county’s contract engineer for our landfill, gave a detailed overview of the current situation concerning the looming timing of closing our landfill. The Class 1 area which is used for household waste is about ready for partial closure. The site is being monitored and will be partially closed as soon as it is full, which should be within the next month. The committee unanimously voted to proceed with partial closure of the site at the time it reaches capacity with the final closure taking place next spring. The Class 3 area which is used for demolition/construction waste is scheduled for closure in the summer of 2011. The committee is currently looking into the possibility of acquiring the permitting necessary to keep the Class 3 site open for a few more years of service. This would depend on the financial viability of doing so and will be studied in more detail. A request was also made by Fay Portables for a reduced rate for the Class 3 site based on the tonnage they could bring. This issue is going to be researched to determine fiscal impact of reducing the rate based volume.
The most pressing issue of the night was the adoption of building codes for residential construction in Cumberland County. As I mentioned in the September 16, 2010 edition of this newsletter, the recently passed Tennessee Clean Energy Future Act requires the Board of Commissioners to consider the handling of building inspections for one and two family residences. The committee unanimously voted to recommend:
· The City of Crossville conduct building inspections using the 2006 International Residential Codes using the same fee schedule as used for city residents
· The inspections will be on the footer, rough, final and plumbing
· For three copies of the 2006 IRC to be filed in the CountyClerk’s office
· For the CountyAttorney to be the contact point for any enforcement issues requiring legal action
The meeting was adjourned after these recommendations were finalized.
October 18th, 2010
The entire Board of Commissioners met on Monday, October 18th for the regularly scheduled monthly meeting. Several routine budget amendment resolutions were passed to receive various grants and to move money to different line items. As you may recall, County Mayor Carey decided to consolidate the EMS Director and the County Fire Chief into one position. A resolution was presented to move funds from the EMS line into the Fire Department area. The motion passed with a 13-4 vote, with Commissioner Seiber unable to attend the meeting. I voted no on the resolution for a few reasons. From everything I have gathered, Jeff Dodson is a valuable employee of the county, and will do an excellent job in this new position. I am concerned with the $16,209 transferred for the salary increase as well as with the purchase of a vehicle costing $17,983. In these tough economic times, it is hard for me to justify these expenditures as I believe more savings could have been realized with a more conservative approach.
The Commission also voted 17-0 to enter into an agreement with the City to conduct building inspections. The details of the inspections are as described above in the recommendation from the Environmental Services Committee. The County will also be sharing expenses with the City on the animal shelter. These items represent a new cooperation between the City and County and I look forward to working together on more issues in the future.
Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. More information is available on my website at http://allenfoster.net. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact me.
Allen
allenfoster.com 