City Public Works Supervisor Says New Equipment and More Employees Needed

April 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

More help and new equipment needed!

The City of Smithville’s Public Works Department is in need of some new equipment and more employees according to Public Works Supervisor Josh Hawkins, who addressed the Mayor and Aldermen during a budget workshop meeting last Monday night, April 24.

In his budget requests, Hawkins asked that the city fund the purchase of a new jet washer on a 4×4 truck chassis primarily for sewer department services, although it could be used for other purposes such as cleaning out road tiles and to wash roadways and parking lots from water/sewer line leaks or breaks.
Hawkins said a new jet washer would be equipped with a camera to locate underground breaks in sewer lines, something the aging equipment the city uses now does not have.

The cost for a new jet washer is expected to be $256,155 dollars which could be funded by the city’s water/sewer fund and street department budgets.

“The jet washer that we currently have is over 20 years old, does not have a camera, and it is a pull behind. We must pull it with a truck everywhere we go. If it is on a right of way, off pavement, we must hook it to a tractor and pull it across town to get it where we are going,” said Hawkins.

“We need a new jet washer with a camera. This will allow us to be able to jet wash all lines, view them as we go, and make repairs on things we see happening before they cause issues. The jet washer I am asking for is basically the same thing we have now except it is on a 4-wheel drive truck chassis, so it doesn’t have to be pulled around with another truck. The camera can be used in many ways, such as to find sewer services that are not mapped, manholes that are missing due to being covered up or paved over from years ago, and to find leaks in several pipes where excess ground water is entering the lines and being treated at the sewer plant. On a good dry day, I’m told (by the sewer plant operator) they treat anywhere between 1.2 to 1.5 million gallons (a day) but as soon as they get a half inch of rain it jumps up to over 3 million gallons (a day) so that tells me there is that much ground water getting in our sewer lines. Therefore, the sewer plant is operating more, the cost is more, and the chemicals they are using to treat this water is more. If we get this new jet washer to view all these lines, the cost of operating the sewer plant in years to come should go down,” said Hawkins.

Hawkins also wants the city to create and fund a new maintenance employee position to work as needed at various places including the golf course, city pool, tennis courts, park, water plant, sewer plant, city hall, airport and others. He said this person would be able do jobs another city worker currently has to perform aside from his regular duties.

“Right now we are having to ask our mechanic to do all this, such as changing light bulbs, door knobs, etc. (in various city departments) and we have to pull him off his job to do this,” said Hawkins.

According to Hawkins, the city could name a current employee for this new maintenance position and fill his job from within the department.

“We have an individual in mind for this (maintenance) position and he would not have to be trained, as he has already been doing these duties the last several years. For example, he already knows everything about the swimming pool, the golf course, etc. and he is a very smart electrician so if something anywhere needs to be done along that line he could handle that. If we decide to go with this person, he would be pulled from his current city position and another employee could be moved up into his job,” said Hawkins.

Another new position is needed in the public works department (city garage) according to Hawkins and this person could serve as a “floater” from one department to another. He would have his own duties but could be cross trained to fill in for others when they have to be absent from work.

“We have grown over the years with this city and have taken on more services that have to be maintained, such as the splash pad and basketball court at Greenbrook Park, golf course, and city pool and since 2003 we have added 483 meters to be maintained from new residential developments which does not include all of the customers on Coconut Ridge Road yet we have operated on the same number of employees for the 20 years I have been here. I think with the rise in extra work and growth of the city, we need an extra employee,” said Hawkins.

“This employee would be considered a “floater”. What I mean by that is that this employee could take the place of whoever may be absent at that time. This would mean that he could be cross trained on water, sewer, parks, streets, or even trash truck duties. Right now when we have somebody out, I have to pull somebody from another crew to take his spot which leaves me down by one guy. As of now, for example, we have to send one of our guys (city garage) to the sewer plant because nobody there has a commercial driver license (CDL). This new person would help fill those gaps,” he said.

“We also plan on having this new employee, if hired, to keep meter boxes cleaned in and out to ensure they are easy to find. He would complete water samples and blow water offs each month as required by the state. He would read meters, complete work orders, cut-offs, and assist in helping other crews when needed unless he is filling in for an absent employee,” said Hawkins.

Finally, Hawkins wants the city to purchase a new flatbed 4×4 dump style truck. The total cost is expected to be $78,531.

“I am asking for a Ford F550 4×4 with a 12-foot hydraulic bed,” said Hawkins.

“We currently have 2 dump style trucks. One of them is a 2002 Ford F350 with an 8-foot bed and 277,201 miles but it doesn’t hold much. Two full buckets with a backhoe and its full. This causes it to take longer to dig out and haul off or bring gravel due to so many trips back and forth,” said Hawkins.

“The second truck is a 2005 Ford F552- 2-wheel drive with a 12-foot electric style bed and 76,524 miles. This truck does serve its purpose, but we have turned it into a salt truck as well. This means from November to the first of April, its strictly used for salting the roads and plowing snow in the city. During this time, we are down to one truck that can be used to haul off mud, dirt, etc. from areas we dig up, which is the older short bed Ford F350. The F550, or salt truck during the winter is equipped with a snowplow and saltshaker spreader in case of snow or ice. Therefore, using it like we need in the winter months cannot be done. This puts us in a bind if both the water and sewer departments are needing a truck at the same time when there is only one available truck,’ said Hawkins.

A new Ford F550 4×4 with a 12-foot hydraulic bed would solve the problem,” said Hawkins.

The mayor and aldermen have not yet acted on Hawkins’ requests.

April 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Cats at the DeKalb Animal Shelter no longer have to be “sheltered” inside the building all the time!

A ribbon cutting was held Saturday for a new “Catio” made possible by the Friends of DeKalb Animal Shelter organization.

A Catio is a cat enclosure or “cat patio” that provides feline safety and enrichment outdoors designed using wood framing, escape proof wire mesh, lounging and sitting areas, and its topped with a metal roof. It is located outside and just behind the shelter building.

“This gets cats out of the shelter and lets them have fresh air and to play and for the community to come out and sit with the cats. We are super excited about this and really thankful to the “Friends of” organization for allowing us to have this Catio,” said Shelter Director Emmaly Bennett.

“The structure was built by Michael Barrett and we want to thank him. The Catio sign was made by Graphic Design Artist Donna Delmas of Sun Graphics. Rick Davies is responsible for everything inside that is made to be fun for the cats along with more volunteers and staff who helped put everything together,” said Bennett.

April 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce is asking for more financial support from the City of Smithville and the County.

Chamber Director Suzanne Williams addressed the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen Monday night, April 24 at a budget workshop asking for a $10,000 increase in the city’s annual contribution to the Chamber, which if approved would go from $15,000 to $25,000. Williams also addressed the county budget committee on Monday, April 3 asking for a $35,000 increase. The county currently contributes $25,000 annually to the Chamber. If the request is approved, the funding would go to $60,000. The Chamber, a non-profit organization, was established to promote local economic development and tourism and it is governed by a board of directors and officers. Three years ago, the county raised its annual contribution to the Chamber from $17,500 to $25,000. The Chamber is also supported by membership dues and fundraisers.

Chamber Director Williams said DeKalb County’s Chamber remains one of the lowest funded in the state and could use the extra money to support its budget and mission. In addition to promoting DeKalb County and raising funds for the Chamber Williams said she also spends much of her time writing and administering grants for the county among other tasks. She also added that tourism in DeKalb County grew by 30% in 2021 and ranks third among the 14 Upper Cumberland Counties behind Putnam and Cumberland.

The following is a summary of her remarks to the Mayor and Aldermen last week.

“I spend a lot of time and effort into grants. The grants are on a 2-year cycle, but these grant dollars have a huge impact on our tourism dollars. Some of the grant examples include the billboards on Interstate 40 promoting the Fiddlers Jamboree and Center Hill Lake, $7,000 grant for a PBS National Show for the Jamboree last year, 3 downtown murals, hanging lights in the alley, printed materials, etc. These are just some of the things funded by the grants. I focus on projects that positively impact our local people and attract visitors. The grants have an impact on Smithville as well as the additional funds I had to raise in grant matches and the city contributed $1,000 for the mural match. With the grant matches, the Chamber was able to bring over $200,000 to projects within the city,” said Williams.

“The 2023 grants already awarded this year amount to $33,400. Other grants I will be applying for in 2023 include $150,000 for the downtown Smithville revitalization. I will be reapplying for the $7,000 Jamboree national program, and $3,600 Jamboree billboard which will be for next year. I will also be adding other (grants) as they become available. I focus on projects that positively impact our local people and attract visitors,” she said.

Developed in 1980, the state’s Three-Star Program is designed to help communities take full advantage of economic development opportunities.

“Three Star is hugely important,” said Williams. “The Chamber has kept the City of Smithville and the whole county Three Star certified for 25 years and it is a lot of work. You could have a part time person just doing that job. Without certification, the city could not apply for most of the grants including the Community Development Block Grants. Having Three Star certification means you also get bonuses and discounts when you are awarded a grant. For example, the City of Smithville paid $51,645 less on its CDBG sewer grant match because Smithville is a Three Star community made possible through the Chamber,” Williams continued.

“I actively serve on 19 boards and committees including 5 workforce development committees, so I have a lot of meetings. The Chamber organizes industry round table meetings with our local industries and state partners, and we have been working closely with our newest industry coming to town which will be located in the former Foutch Industries building and is scheduled to be up and going around the first of June. Annually I attend several conferences on training. The Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development is one of the requirements for being a Three Star community. You have to go to that or else you won’t be certified for Three Star and the Chamber covers the cost of that conference. We do all the things you would expect the chamber to do. We also oversee the Leadership DeKalb program which starts back up in September, and we organize several events,” Williams said.

“DeKalb County has the 3rd highest tourism dollars in the 14 county Upper Cumberland region behind the much larger Cumberland and Putnam counties. The latest figures show $32 million in direct spending from our tourists and that is a 30% increase from the previous year. Overnight tourists paid $1.1 million in local taxes and since I have served as Chamber Director, we have never gone backward in tourism dollars. Even in 2020, DeKalb tourism dollars were up 3.7% from the previous year and out of the 95 Tennessee counties only 15 increased in tourism dollars and DeKalb County was one of them. Out of the 15 counties in the Upper Cumberland region, only 2 had an increase in tourism numbers and DeKalb County was one of the two. Compared to what a neighboring county (Chamber) receives from their city, the City of Sparta contributes $30,000 to the White County Chamber and White County’s tourism dollars are about one third of ours in DeKalb County. Smith County has $10 million in tourism dollars, and they (county) give their Chamber $42,500. Clay County gets $4.76 million in tourism dollars and their Chamber gets from them (county) over $140,000. The Clay County Chamber gets all the county’s hotel/motel tax including a tax on houseboat rentals. Our Chamber this year will be getting some ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds but those are going for tourism projects,” said Williams.

In her remarks to both City and County, Williams said “Based on what I have submitted, I would humbly request that you (city) consider investing $25,000 annually to the Chamber and that you (county) invest $60,000. I am not asking for a donation. This is an investment. Any more you put toward the Chamber, you get it back in grants alone or Three Star savings. This (request) is not for my salary. My salary will not change by one penny. This increase would go straight to the budget to better serve you and the City of Smithville and DeKalb County,” said Williams.

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