City Leaders in Liberty and Dowelltown Approve Lease of Property to County for New Fire Hall

January 4, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Construction may soon begin on the new Liberty/Dowelltown Fire Hall now that the lease agreement has been approved and signed by leaders in the towns of Liberty and Dowelltown which jointly own the property where the new facility will be built.

During a meeting Wednesday night, members of the Dowelltown City Council approved a 99-year lease to the county for the entire 8.65-acre property formerly known as the old Liberty/Dowelltown Park off Highway 70 on West Main Street which is no longer in use. The Liberty Mayor and Aldermen signed off on the lease agreement during their meeting Monday night. Although the county commission has already allocated $382,912 in ARP funding for the project, it too must act on the lease agreement at the next commission meeting.

“We (county) are leasing the entire site under a 99-year lease for a dollar. The Liberty City Council passed it Monday night with no opposition. The lease was signed by Liberty Mayor Audrey Martin and notarized by Charlotte Bratten, their secretary. Tonight (Wednesday) the Dowelltown City Council adopted the lease and Vice Mayor Ron Griffith signed it in place of Mayor Pam Redmon, who has been in the hospital and was absent at the meeting. They too voted to approve it without opposition. We will now move on and get together with our engineer and see about getting the contract signed with Tim Pedigo who was awarded the bid to do the construction” said County Mayor Matt Adcock who attended both the Liberty and Dowelltown meetings. County Fire Chief Donny Green was at the Dowelltown meeting.

The new fire hall is expected to improve firefighting and EMS services in the western portion of the county. Under the plan the current Liberty Fire Hall located in downtown Liberty will be replaced by the new Liberty/Dowelltown Fire Hall and the new station will house a fire engine and a tanker truck. The fire hall could also serve as an EMS satellite station subject to the wishes of the county commission.

January 4, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

It’s been almost two years since officials of the Tennessee Corrections Institute paid a call on the former county commission to address the structural deficiencies with the DeKalb County Jail but a return visit is planned this month to bring the new commission up to date on the current condition of the facility and what TCI expects of the county to maintain jail certification.

Bob Bass, Deputy Director of the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) along with Jim Hart of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) will meet with the County Mayor, County Commission, and Sheriff on Wednesday, January 18 at 6 p.m. in the lower courtroom of the courthouse.

Although the county will have to continue pursuing a long-term plan of action for addressing structural deficiencies, the state has continued to grant certification approval for the DeKalb County Jail and Annex. As part of that plan of action the sheriff must submit monthly progress reports to TCI and the county, at the request of TCI, commissioned CTAS to conduct a needs assessment or feasibility study of the jail.

In the fall of 2019, the county entered into a partnership with TCI and CTAS to develop a plan of action to show measurable progress in rectifying deficiencies to keep the jail and annex certified. Although no measurable progress had to be shown during the height of the COVID pandemic, Bass told the county commission on March 31, 2021 that the problems will eventually have to be solved.

“The particular standards you are in trouble with are physical plant. How the jail was built. It has nothing to do with what the sheriff’s department has done or the staff when it comes to operation. In fact its one of the cleanest jails I have been in. Even the part you shouldn’t be operating (the oldest building) is clean and well organized. You are not overcrowded. You just don’t meet TCI standards in some areas,” he said.

The oldest building, which has been in operation since 1959 and houses prisoners in its basement, poses perhaps the greatest concern.

“That basement has no natural light. You must have skylight. Windows that produce natural light. You must have an 8 foot ceiling height. Your basement ceiling is 7 feet, 6 inches. Its not sprinkled. Sprinklers are not part of our standards unless you are building a new facility but old facilities like yours are not grandfathered in and you have a cage down there which serves as a makeshift cell for trustees with a 12 inch gap on top of it. That is unauthorized housing. An inmate could come over that gap and have access to appliances, water heater, chemicals, etc,” said Bass.

The basement cells each have 10 beds but the square footage only exists for six inmates and while the cells have porcelain sinks and toilets the state requires they be stainless steel. The cells also have no floor drains and conduit is exposed.

Cells for females in another part of the jail have similar issues.

As for the jail annex, which has been in operation since 2001, there are 46 beds with adequate space for only 32 inmates.

According to Bass new and existing facilities must have at least a minimum size multiple-occupancy cell for 2-64 occupants with twenty-five (25) square feet of clear floor space for each occupant in the sleeping areas, and a ceiling elevation of not less than eight (8) feet. At least thirty-five (35) square feet of clear floor space must be provided for each occupant when the occupant is confined for more than ten (10) hours per day.

“We have identified what our problems are and must now figure out a way to come up with a solution. We’re here to help and we will get you through this. My suggestion is to start strategizing about what options you have. You can’t do anything about the basement in the old jail building. You will have to come out of that basement. It could be used for storage but not for housing inmates. Take a look at your growth and see how many beds you need which the feasibility study will address. We want to help you fix the problems but until we get them fixed I am going to fight to keep you certified. That’s my job. I will go in front of the board and plead your case,” said Bass.

January 4, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Don’t be surprised if you see a line of automobiles early Saturday morning stretching from downtown Smithville on South College Street as far out as Green Brook Park.

It’s become a regular occurrence at least twice a year as families needing food get in line to be served by the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church’s mobile food pantry in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

The distribution begins at 9 a.m. with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. No one being served ever has to leave their automobile. Volunteers working the pantry will prepare food boxes filled with non-perishables, vegetables, produce, canned goods, breads, bakery treats, and sometimes dairy products and deliver them directly to the vehicles waiting in line. Automobiles will line up facing north on College Street to North Market Street.

Myra Reffue, Pantry Coordinator, said this food distribution has been a community outreach mission of the church for several years.

“Second Harvest always sends us enough food to feed about 300 families and we try to limit it to two families per car and depending upon the size of the family there is enough food distributed to feed each family for about a week. This particular pantry is sponsored and paid for by TVA so the church doesn’t have to pay anything for this one. Many times we get sponsorships from companies that go through Second Harvest and if there is no sponsor the church covers the cost,” said Reffue.

The food pantry always gets help from volunteers both from the church and the community to off load the Second Harvest truck and to prepare and deliver the food boxes but others who want to participate are welcome.

“Anyone who wants to volunteer needs to be there by 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. For more information you may call 615-597-4197, extension 3,” added Reffue.

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