JASPER, Tenn. — The Marion County Commission has reversed a decision it made last month when board members rejected a plan for the county to take control of the Foster Falls campground.
In January, the board voted 9-6 against a deal with the campground’s current owner TVA in which the county would take over its day-to-day operations.
“There were some concerns about the numbers,” County Mayor David Jackson said.
The board held a workshop on the matter last week with representatives from TVA.
Initially, TVA had offered to give the county $15,000 per year for two years to aid with some potential upgrades to the property as well as covering the water and electric bill payments. That agreement included a 30-day opt-out clause so if county leaders didn’t like the prospect of running the campground, they could terminate the contract quickly.
At last week’s workshop, TVA increased that offer to $24,000 for the first year.
“We can use that to buy lawnmowers,” Jackson said. “We can use it to pay a caretaker out there. Whatever our needs are.”
He said if TVA and the county didn’t “work something out,” the campground and bathroom facilities at the park would remain closed indefinitely.
Commission Chairman Gene Hargis said the reason the board didn’t approve the deal last month was because some commissioners didn’t have enough information.
“They didn’t feel comfortable voting for something they didn’t have all the facts on,” he said.
At this week’s board meeting, Hargis made the motion for the county to accept TVA’s new proposal for Foster Falls and added a stipulation that no additional county funds beyond the first year’s $24,000 would be spent on the site.
This time, the board voted 11-3 to approve the proposal.
Hargis said the board could evaluate how the campground runs for one year without using any taxpayer money.
“After that initial year, if we don’t think we can make a go of it, we’ve got a 30-day out, and we can get out of it,” he said.
Any money used on the campground would be paid initially out of the county’s general fund, Jackson said. Then an invoice would be sent to TVA for a reimbursement of the funds.
“We could spend that money however we want to,” he said. “If we want to spend all of their money, and then we call them and tell them to take it back, in 30 days it’s theirs.”
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.