By Karen Hall

Editor

Mayor Jim Bingham's vote was needed when the City Council voted Tuesday for the third and final time on an ordinance to raise the charge for municipal water by $6 and sewer by $4.

Councilmen Trigg Cathey and Steve Thomas voted "yes," and Councilmen Robin Minor and Odie Whitehead Jr. voted "no," thus leaving a tie which was broken by Bingham's "yes" vote.

Councilman Artie Allen was absent, and Bingham reported that he was hospitalized with heart trouble and pneumonia.

When the ordinance was voted on for the first time, in September, Minor's was the only "no" vote, but Whitehead hesitated before saying "yes."

By October, Whitehead changed his vote to "no," and Allen was the one who hesitated before voting "yes."

Now city customers of Lewisburg Water and Wastewater Department will see an extra $10 on their bill every month, but, according to figures presented by Water Board members Cathey and Bill Marsh, the department will be able to pay its debts, and the state will not take over its management.

"I trust you all will sleep well tonight," said Betty Bigger, the only person to take advantage of the citizens' comments portion of the meeting to express her opinion of the rate increase. "I don't understand why you couldn't compromise on the $6.50 (rate increase)."

In other business at the 45-minute meeting, councilmen voted 4-0 to authorize Ellington Airport Manager Clay Derryberry to apply for a state grant that would pay for widening the runway by 25 feet, putting a two-inch overlay on the runway and taxiway, and replacing the old lights with LEDs.

If this were done, Derryberry said, "We would have the runway in shape for 25 more years." The city's cost would be 5 percent of the grant or about $150,000.

Derryberry said pavement maintenance at the airport had been scheduled for 2016, but when he and Airport Board Chairman John Murphy went to the planning meeting last month, officials urged them to move it up and take advantage of the 5 percent money, which might not be available in the future.

"We have time to explore this before the next meeting," said Bingham, listing several other projects the city could be obligated to pay for.

"There's a whole lot there for us to consider," the mayor said. "We could soon deplete the reserves we have."

"I would hate for this body to miss this money," exclaimed Whitehead. "The airport is a vital part of our infrastructure. It would be ill-advised not to have Mr. Derryberry apply for this."

"I'd hate to turn it down," agreed Minor, while Cathey said, "This will be a good thing for this community. A stitch in time saves nine, and this will be money well spent."

Derryberry pointed out that the money might not have to be paid until the next fiscal year, or even the one after that. There will also be a reduction in the airport's utility bill if the LED lights are installed, because they cost 50 percent less to operate than regular lights.

Councilmen rejected Bingham's suggestion to wait until the next meeting, and voted 4-0 in favor of authorizing Derryberry to apply for the grant.

They also voted in favor of City Manager Randall Dunn applying for a Tennessee Department of Transportation multi-modal access grant, which, if awarded, could cost the city $30,000 to $40,000. The grant would pay for a new surface on 1st Avenue North between the square and Rock Creek Park, as well as bike lanes, and ADA compliant sidewalks.

Dunn predicted the city has "about a 66 percent chance to get selected to move forward" with this grant.