January 3, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Panhandling has been occurring in Smithville recently near Walmart and city officials want to nip it in the bud!
During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, Mayor Josh Miller said he has reached out to City Attorney Vester Parsley and the Municipal Technical Advisory Service to give some advice and guidance on how to address the issue.
“I think it is a shame that we have lobbies closed at restaurants right now because they can’t find the staff to work while there are people standing at a red light with a sign and their hand out asking people to give,” said Mayor Miller. “I know there are circumstances and I believe in helping people, but this community is very helpful. We have churches that reach out. This community reaches out to a lot of people, but this is something we need to address,” added Mayor Miller.
“It’s also a safety issue, not only for the public but for the person doing the panhandling as well. If there is any action we can take we should,” said Alderman Jacobs.
Meanwhile in other business, the aldermen voted to increase the pay of lifeguards at the municipal swimming pool this summer from $8.00 to $10.00 per hour at the mayor’s request.
The aldermen also approved the hiring of a new police officer at the request of Chief Mark Collins. Daniel Haggard, a police officer with seven years of experience comes to the Smithville Police Department from the Alexandria Police Department.
In other business, Mayor Miller announced that the city will soon be receiving from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) more than $1.3 million for eligible water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure projects as part of the Tennessee Water Infrastructure Investment Program. This coupled with the city’s share of federal American Rescue Plan funding will put the city’s share for these type projects at more than $2 million.
Mayor Miller also informed the aldermen that new splash pad equipment for Greenbrook Park should be arriving by March 7 with plans for the project to be up and running by May.
In November, the Smithville Aldermen awarded a bid to Aquatix of Cookeville at $172,976. To pay for it the aldermen adopted a budget amendment on second and final reading authorizing an expenditure of up to $173,000 for the splash pad. The money for the project will be taken from the city’s unreserved fund balance.
The city has applied for a T-Mobile Hometown Grant through the Upper Cumberland Development District which, if approved, would provide up to $50,000 for the splash pad project.