| Dresden takes part of burden of project |
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Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 12:00 pm
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By MARY JEAN HALL
Special to The Press
The Dresden board of mayor and aldermen decided to pass an ordinance Monday that would make the city responsible for part of the cost of a drainage project instead of passing the cost on to the property owners.
That decision came after the last meeting when the board voted against the original drainage ordinance, which would have made the property owners cover part of the expenses. The City of Dresden would have only had to pay for up to 25 percent of the total project cost. Many residents showed up at that meeting to express their concerns and disapproval of the ordinance, so the board did not pass it.
With the new ordinance, the city will pursue the proposal that the West Tennessee River Basin Authority would pay for up to one-half of the indicated costs of the project, not to exceed $49,577.50. The city would also commit to pay for the remaining portion of the cost.
With no discussion, the board passed Ordinance 2013-06 with a vote of 4-0.
“I want to thank everybody for the hard work they put in on the drainage issue and everybody’s input,” Mayor Danny Forrester said. “We’ve got one more reading on it but I personally want to say thank you to each and every one of you for your hard work and getting this done. I thank you for getting it done. “
The ordinances resulted from residents requesting assistance in repairing drainage problems on private and public properties within the city limits. The ordinance states that a drainage problem exists along Pikeview Street (Continued from Page One)
and affects the properties owned by Buck Hurt, Weakley County Gas & Oil, Lynn Arnold, Jesse Garner and Jimmy Dilday.
The West Tennessee River Basin Authority has studied the project and has developed a design to solve the persistent drainage problem. The estimated total cost is $99,115.
The City of Dresden will apply for a federal or state grant to fund the city’s portion of the project. Should a federal or state grant not be available, the city would still be responsible for the remainder of the total project cost.
The ordinance still has to pass a second reading at the next board meeting for it to become official.
The board moved on to pass Resolution 2013-04 with a vote of 5-0. It stated the Dresden board of mayor and aldermen will name the Dresden Farmers Market in honor of commissioner Terry Oliver.
According to the resolution, Oliver, former commissioner of agriculture, has been instrumental in leading efforts to address the needs and opportunities of farmers and rural communities throughout the state of Tennessee. Oliver has also been a farmer and businessman, and has nearly 20 years of public service and experience in state government.
The resolution also states that Oliver has been instrumental in enhancing the quality of life for residents of Dresden and Weakley County. The board saw it as proper to accord official recognition to Oliver on this memorable occasion and to the celebration which will commemorate the occasion.
The mayor noted during the meeting the recognition had been kept a surprise until as close to the ground-breaking for the farmers’ market as possible.
There will be a public hearing on the drainage ordinance before the Nov. 5 meeting, which takes place at 6 p.m. in the Dresden City Hall.
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Mary Jean Hall of Covington is a senior at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Published in The WCP 10.16.12 |
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