A proposed reservoir near Lookout Creek is in the future of the county, Dade County commissioners said, but the land’s former owner said the county isn’t meeting its end of the bargain and may take the disagreement to court.
Wallace Jack Sells Jr. outlined his complaint in a half-inch-thick letter delivered in mid-September to officials in the Georgia county.
“We haven’t filed a lawsuit yet, so make sure you don’t print any fake news in the paper,” Sells said in a brief phone call.
He refused to speak further on the issue last week but said Monday that he’ll make a decision on whether to go forward with the lawsuit this week.
In 2018, Dade County and Dade County Water and Sewer Authority bought a Lookout Creek-side property from Sells to build a reservoir. At the time of the sale, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported the reservoir would hold 158 million gallons, cost just over $5 million and be funded by state and federal grants.
(READ MORE: Hoping for growth, Dade County approves $500,000 land purchase for reservoir)
On Monday, Ted Rumley, county executive and chairman of the Dade County Board of Commissioners, said that even though the estimate was old, it was still a fair cost projection.
“It’s mostly just dirt work anyway,” he said.
Rumley said the levee will be 50 to 100 feet from the creek and will follow the creek as it bends past the property.
“The creek won’t be bothered,” he said.
Staff Photo by Andrew Wilkins / On Friday, deer bound across a former corn field where a Dade County reservoir has been planned.The property was purchased from Sells in 2018 by Dade County and the Dade County Water and Sewer Authority for $500,000. The county paid $100,000, and the water and sewer authority secured a loan for $400,000. At the end of October 2021, the authority voted to transfer its stake in the reservoir deal to Dade County.
In the letter to the county, Sells said that because of the abandonment of the reservoir project, he has lost valuable lakeside lots and suffered a “major diminution in value” of his adjoining property. Sells also said he was forced to sell his cattle because the county removed a fence and that the county failed to construct a boating and picnic area and other property improvements.
Rumley rejected the idea that the reservoir was abandoned. He said he doesn’t think the reservoir will be built in his lifetime, but the property is there for the next generations’ growth. The land can be equipped for recreational amenities — such as a walking trail, archery or primitive camping — Rumley said, as the reservoir project is studied and planned.
Events are being planned for next fall, Rumley said, including a corn maze and pumpkin patch.
Rumley said he spoke to Sells informally and has brought his concerns to the county’s attorney. The lawsuit is “up in the air,” Rumley said, but the county is moving ahead with preliminary work and permitting. He invited the public to visit the 61-acre creekside property.
Standing next to Lookout Creek on a tour of the property Friday, Rumley pointed to the county’s nearby Dade County Water Authority Water Plant. Framed by bright fall foliage, Rumley said the creek is low right now — and it’s the county’s only source of water.
“When you’re talking about that many people (in the county), it can get scary. You get a real drought in summertime and you see it trickle,” Rumley said of the creek’s importance. “Not only (for) the water we drink, but Trenton needs water to dilute our sewer.”
People used to park next to Lookout Creek and drink beer at night before the county cleaned up the land, Rumley said. A rope swing hung over a pool in the creek, and beyond that stood a large expanse of fallow farmland where corn once grew and the 50-acre reservoir is planned.
An old-fashioned, wheel-style grist mill used to be located at that spot on the creek too, he said.
Rumley said the Sells family has been on the land since before the Civil War, and the land purchased where the reservoir is planned is a special place for its natural beauty as well as its importance to Dade County’s water supply.
In a phone interview, Sherri Walker, water authority general manager, said the authority pulled out of the deal because the growth in the county projected when the project was started never happened. The water bureau also said the site was in a flood plain, along with several other issues detailed in a study.
Walker said there was plenty of water capacity for Dade County in the near future, especially since Walker County has plans to run a new water line up Lookout Mountain.
Different people look at things differently, Rumley said, responding to the water bureau’s decision.
“It’s a feasible thing (the reservoir),” Rumley said. “No one told them at all that it could not happen.”
Even if the engineering study finds a reservoir can’t be built there, Rumley said the land could be sold for more than the original purchase price.
In a follow-up phone interview, Sells said that was his concern: The county would sell the property before he could get about $300,000 worth of amenities agreed to by the county at the time of the sale. Among other land improvements, the county agreed to build a fence that Sells said would cost about $20,000.
The reservoir is needed for the county, Sells said, because there’s a lot more people in Dade County than the decline in population that the 2020 Census shows. He said he knows many Dade County residents who didn’t fill out the census paperwork detailing household size, he said.
“It’s nobody’s business, that’s what we consider it, especially us old-timers,” Sells said. “It’s nobody’s business how many people are in my house, or how many kids I’ve got, or even if I’m here.”
Sells said the county has been trying to buy that property from the Sells family since the 1970s because it’s close to the water treatment plant.
(READ MORE: Trenton, Georgia, mayor opposes proposed change to Dade County water authority)
In Rumley’s office before the tour, Stetson Stevens, game warden with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said he patrols the Lookout Creek-side property to stop illegal dumping and checks fishing permits and legal limits for fishermen.
“There’s a variety of fish … bass, crappie, bream, things people wanna catch around here,” Stevens said. “People in the county like to fish, and there’s a lot of them over there,” he said.
Stevens said it’s a pretty spot that’s also used for kayaking. He also pointed out there’s only one other publicly owned fishing spot nearby. Only about 250 yards of creekside was open to the public before the sale, Rumley said, and the rest was privately owned.
Beyond an enforcement role, Rumley said the Department of Natural Resources is involved because that department has the ability to win grants for outdoor recreation facilities like walking trails.
Lookout Creek is unusual, because it flows north, said Robert Goff, Dade County commissioner, standing near what he called a favorite fishing spot. At its treatment facility, Dade County is allowed to draw water from the creek while it flows through Dade County from Alabama before it flows north to Tennessee, he said.
Goff is a supporter of the reservoir, for its recreational opportunities as well as future water supply growth.
“This green space stuff is getting to be a big deal these days,” Goff said, pointing to a huge home development planned for Elder Mountain in Tennessee’s Hamilton and Marion counties.
“It’s all being gobbled up,” Rumley said. “Water is the most valuable commodity we got.”
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.