October 4, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
The Smithville Mayor and Aldermen met briefly Monday night, October 4 at city hall to take care of some routine business.
Last month the aldermen adopted a resolution setting a public hearing for October 4th at 6 p.m. at city hall on the proposed annexation and plan of services for a site on Parkway Drive near the airport adjacent to the Airport Park property. A local developer, Larry Hasty, wants to build a residential subdivision there. No hearing was held Monday night, October 4. Mayor Josh Miller said the hearing has been postponed until a later date not yet set.
However, the DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission will have a public hearing on Monday, October 11 at the DeKalb County Courthouse for the purpose of receiving public comment regarding a proposal to remove portions of Parkway Drive, Shady Drive, 2nd Street and Allen Street from the county road list which surround the area proposed for city annexation and to transfer ownership of those sections to the City of Smithville. The public hearing will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the downstairs courtroom. All citizens are invited to attend. Any questions or comments can be addressed to DeKalb County Planner Tommy Lee by phone: 931-979-2170 or email: tlee@ucdd.org.
In other business, the aldermen Monday night updated the city’s building codes by adopting ordinance 496 which replaces all previous related ordinances with the 2018 International Building Code, Residential Code, Plumbing Code, Mechanical Code, International Fuel Gas Code, Energy Conservation Code, and Fire Code.
The aldermen also confirmed Mayor Miller’s reappointments of members to various city boards including the following:
Planning Commission- Hoyte Barrett, Keith Blair, and Wade Smith
Beer Board- Curt Rust and Steve Hays
Board of Zoning Appeals- Wade Smith and Eddie Hobson
Smithville Electric System Board- Sandra Walls
Mayor Miller has called for a workshop on October 19 at 6 p.m. followed by a special meeting to move forward on plans for a 2,400 square foot splash pad at Green Brook Park. A splash pad is a recreation area for water play meant to enhance the enjoyment of the park, especially for kids.
“I have had several meetings with a couple of different companies. We know the location of where this would go if the board approves this. I have got a lot of positive feedback on this splash pad. I don’t have everything in I need yet for you (aldermen) to look at. I recommend that we have a workshop on October 19. We would probably need to take some action after the workshop and have a special called meeting after that,” said Mayor Miller.
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 project. Mayor Miller said the city should know soon if the application is to be accepted.
Last year the city applied for but was denied a Healthy Places Grant through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Foundation which would have provided up to $750,000 in funding for a new playground at Green Brook Park. The city has re-applied this year.
The city is also awaiting word on its application for a Tennessee Department of Transportation Multi-Modal Access Grant. This program is a 95/5% match for construction of up to $1 million. If fully funded, the city would receive $950,000 in grant funding with a $50,000 local match requirement for construction of new sidewalk and crosswalk improvements along the State Route 26 (Highway 70) and State Route 56 (Congress Boulevard) corridors and intersections. The grant if approved be administered on behalf of the City by the Upper Cumberland Development District.
The Smithville Police Department will soon be vacating city hall for its new headquarters across the street. Mayor Miller said when the officers make the move it will free up some office space at city hall for perhaps others to make use of.
“We will have rooms available upstairs when our officers move out. The Jamboree Board has contacted us about office space and one more (person) has so we need to have a discussion on that,” said Mayor Miller.
The mayor also mentioned several events to be held on the public square this month.
“October will be a busy time on the square. Thursday night (October 7) businesses will stay open late. October 17 we will have an open house for our police department from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Habitat for Humanity Chili Cook-off and Bake Sale will be October 22. The Pumpkin Festival will be October 23 and the Smithville Boo Bash is set for October 29,” said Mayor Miller.