Red Bank would take sewers back from county authority

Red Bank would take control of its sewers from the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority if given the chance, the city’s mayor said.

“At one time, the (authority board) chairman offered us our sewer system back,” Mayor Joe Glasscock said. “If he does it again, we’ll take it.”

Red Bank officials are angry over a proposed $8 monthly fee — $96 per year — that the water authority wants to add to pay for inspection and repair of pipes that connect homes to the main sewer lines. The fee would affect 24,000 sewer customers in Red Bank, Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, East Ridge, Soddy-Daisy and unincorporated parts of the county.

At Thursday’s County Commission meeting, where the issue was discussed, Red Bank officials said the fee is unfair to them because they already pay an extra $8 per month to pay down about $15 million in debt from sewer repairs the city made in the 1990s.

“Our solution was to get grants and fix our sewer,” Mr. Glasscock said.

John Anderson, the water authority’s attorney, said a withdrawal procedure likely would have to be initiated by the authority’s board.

Hamilton County Commissioner Richard Casavant said he advised authority officials to take Red Bank up on the offer.

Authority officials last week delayed the implementation of the fee to work out a compromise with Red Bank. On Thursday, they defended their fee plan before the commission.

Authority Executive Director Cleveland Grimes said the repair plan isn’t optional because the water board is under order from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to make the repairs.

Some commissioners objected to the fee, saying all customers should not have to pay for repairs when all 24,000 may not need repairs.

“I think it’s the individual’s responsibility to take care of everything on their property,” Commissioner Fred Skillern said.

Authority officials have said about 12,000 pipes likely will have to be repaired. Water Board Chairman Henry Hoss agreed that homeowners should be responsible for their own property but doubted that everyone with faulty pipes would make the repairs.

Mr. Skillern suggested that homeowners who do not make the repairs should have their service shut off.

Commission Chairman Bill Hullander said the authority should make the payments optional, such as an insurance policy.

County Mayor Claude Ramsey asked if the authority could do the repair work and then pro-rate the costs onto customers’ sewer bills. Mr. Hoss said the authority doesn’t have the ability to bill that way but would be open to the idea.

The way the authority approved the fee at a May 7 meeting was a problem for Commissioner John Allen Brooks.

“The way it looks to me, this was a special called meeting. You didn’t talk to anybody, and you basically passed a tax,” he said.

“I wouldn’t call it a tax,” Mr. Hoss replied.

“It’s $96 out of their pocket,” Mr. Brooks said, calling the authority’s plan a “socialist program.”

Mr. Hoss said he’s to blame for the vote taking place the way it did. He said he wanted to prepare for a public meeting on Signal Mountain regarding the plan.

“I personally called that meeting,” he said.

Mr. Brooks responded, “I do blame you.”