KIMBALL, Tenn. - With more than a year's worth of meetings, decisions and votes down the drain, Kimball and Jasper leaders will start over in an effort to complete a regional wastewater facility in Marion County.
The project originally included South Pittsburg, but the city opted out of the effort last month.
"We still have the opportunity to build a regional plant with just [Kimball] and Jasper," Kimball Mayor David Jackson said. "I think it's time we move on."
Even though cost estimates for the facility have not been made available, Kimball Alderman Mark Payne said it will be $8 million to $10 million.
Officials said 45 percent of the project's cost will be paid for with grant money, but Kimball and Jasper will have to find a way to pay for the remaining 55 percent.
"When you look at the other side of the coin, we're limited now to 200,000 gallons per day," Payne said. "We could lose a prospective industry that might want to come in here because of that limit. One of these days, the economy is going to turn around, and we need to be ready."
South Pittsburg Mayor Mike Killian has said a key factor in the city's decision to pull out of the wastewater facility is an ongoing disagreement with Kimball concerning the debt payment on South Pittsburg's old sewer plant.
South Pittsburg's plant was expanded to help Kimball bring in businesses such as Walmart, McDonald's and Shoney's, Killian said.
"Apparently, Kimball thinks that our people should pay off the debt on our sewer system that was built for them," he said. "I just can't do that."
Officials said the regional plant will have an initial capacity of 1.5 million gallons per day, with Jasper claiming 1 million gallons and Kimball picking up the remaining 500,000 gallons.
The selected site for the plant also offers enough room for future expansions in capacity, officials said.
Kimball and Jasper leaders said they realize the cost for the facility will be higher for each town now that South Pittsburg no longer is involved, but it's a price they must pay for the future of the county.
"We've got a responsibility to our businesses to provide some type of sewage system to them," Jackson said. "I just think the best thing to do is to get this regional system built."
Without improvements to the sewer system, "we could be really limited," Payne said. "So putting the dollars aside and trying to look at all the possibilities, then we should build the sewer with Jasper. I hope that South Pittsburg will come along with us. I truly do."
Kimball attorney Billy Gouger said the towns will be getting more capacity than originally planned for the added costs.
"With that increased cost, Kimball is going from 300,000 to 500,000 gallons per day," he said. "So, it's not like the cost is increasing just because South Pittsburg is no longer involved. [Kimball and Jasper] are also greatly increasing their initial capacity."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com