JASPER, Tenn. - A local firm has offered Marion County a seemingly good deal on moving dirt near the Marion County Regional Institute of Higher Education, but some county leaders aren't ready to sign a contract.
At the August meeting of the Marion County Commission, County Mayor David Jackson said Lofty Construction in Kimball, Tenn., submitted a proposal covering all removal expenses, including engineering permits and erosion control, and leaving the site prepped for a future building.
In exchange, the company would get to keep what it removed from the site.
"Basically, trying to get that chert off the hill is what they're wanting," Jackson said. "It's not anything that would cost us any money at all. They'd just be removing dirt, taking care of it and getting down to where something can be built on it."
Commissioner Tommy Thompson said the county doesn't have a long-term use plan laid out for the section of property at issue.
"We have no idea what kind of volume of material is there," he said.
Chert is selling for $1.50 per yard, Thompson said, and if Marion ever decides to build at the site it would need the material to build up the land there "a minimum of three to four feet."
Without knowing more about what's at the site, he said, it wouldn't make sense to accept the proposal.
"There's just not enough known about it at this point," Thompson said. "To do that, you'd have to do some survey work, get an estimate of how much chert is there, and we just can't give it away. We might have a future need for it."
The board voted 13-2 to table the proposal for a month while its building use committee studies the matter.
Commissioner Joey Blevins said that since the dirt removal involves county property, anyone should have the opportunity to make a similar proposal.
"Any other contractor needs to have a shot at that also, where the county could get some funds off of that," he said. "I just don't see how it's feasible myself."
Commissioner Mack Reeves agreed and said the county "can't just give that [material] to a private individual."
"It would be poor stewardship for us to give it away and not be getting money for it," he said. "We don't know what may be built there in the future."
Commissioner Donald Blansett offered to rescind his motion to table the issue so board members could "beat on it some more."
"I think it's a dead horse," Commissioner Louin Campbell said.
If a building was already planned at the site, Thompson said, the proposal could be financially viable, but for now, that's not the case.
"What I'm saying is we don't have enough information to make a good decision," he said.
The board will reconsider the proposal at its Sept. 25 meeting.
Commission Chairman Gene Hargis said board members should "do their homework" regarding the issue during that time.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34 @gmail.com.