Published: August 25, 2008 04:47 pm         

Dam bridge closing scheduled for sooner rather than later

The closing of the bridge across the Holiday Hills Dam will come much sooner then originally expected and Holiday Hills residents will need to start using the alternate route in about two weeks.

City manager Ted Meadows has been informed the contractor is some three months ahead of schedule and expects to close the bridge on Holiday Drive on Sept. 8. The bridge will remain closed to traffic for approximately nine months. Originally the bridge was not expected to close until December.

The alternate route completed by the city connects Bobwhite Drive to Deerfield Road and then to the west side of Tenth Street at the Tennessee Technology Center at a new traffic signal on the Miller Bypass. City officials say that detour signs will be put up to direct drivers while the dam is closed.

The Holiday Hills Dam project includes upgrades to the dam so it meets requirements of the Safe Dams Act, widening the spillway/weir and extending the length of the bridge that crosses the spillway.

Even though the drought this summer is not as bad as last year, Crossville reservoirs are down according the a report city manager Ted Meadows gave to the city council at their regular August meeting.

According to Meadows, Meadow Park Lake is down some 22.5 inches while Holiday Hills is down 28 inches. Meadow Park is not down as far as last year while Holiday Lake is down as far as it was this time last year. Crossville Mayor J. H. Graham said that the city would continue to monitor the situation, but the water system was not in trouble yet.

Prior to the regular city council meeting, the council met as the audit committee and went over several matters including a project to determine the number of trash containers the city should be billed for by Cumberland Waste Disposal. The amount of trash containers has been a questions that the council wanted researched and the results of the investigation could save the city over $41,000 a year.

According to the information gathered by city finance director Fred Houston and city staff, there are 3,618 trash containers at residential houses that should be billed to the city. Currently CWD is billing for some 4091 containers. The survey used 911 addresses as a base and then the number of structures was physically counted to track any discrepancies between the E-911 record and city.

City Manager Meadows sent a letter to CWD on July 26 outlining the results of the city's audit count and indicating the discrepancy and requesting a response from them on the matter. As of the date of the council's meeting, Meadows reported he had not heard back from the company. Meadows said that the city would be adjusting CWD's invoices to the audited number.

Also discussed at the audit committee meeting were questions raised by Jesse Kerley about Crossville Mayor J.H. Graham's expenses. City finance director Fred Houston said he had reviewed all the expense reimbursement requests for the last two years and found no problems with them. Houston said all the reports were approved by the city manager as required. The majority of the expense requests were for mileage.

Kerley questioned an expensive dinner and hotel stays in Nashville. City manager Meadows said that when a dinner is a meeting with a city vendor it is preferable that the city pick up the tab and avoid any ethics questions especially under the new ethics regulations. In addition, when Mayor Graham attends conferences the hotel is selected by the event planners.

The city's audit for the 2007-2008 fiscal year is under way and the work of the auditors in the city offices is expected to be done by Labor Day. The completed audit report is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

During the city council's August meeting, it was approved to provide a one time donation of $37,000 to the Chamber of Commerce for a marketing and development staff position. The job grew out of a TVA partnership and would recruit businesses to compliment existing businesses in the community. The recruited businesses would include tourism and shopping and create additional jobs.

The council also approved the recommended stormwater post construction and detention policy. The policy is required by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Eric Brady with the city's planning department told the council that concerns brought up in a public hearing were addressed in the changes to the original policy. Brady said that the Crossville policy is unique across the state and can be changed in the future if needed. The policy covers drainage and runoff from new developments and construction.

The council approved a $4,000 donation to the Mountaineer football program to help with the purchase of equipment because of more participants in the program.

The council also approved a contract with the Humane Society to provide services for animals picked up by the city's animal control at a cost of $26,000 for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.