February 16, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
The Smithville Mayor and Aldermen will meet in a special called session following a 5:30 p.m. workshop on Tuesday, February 28 at city hall.
The agenda for the special meeting is as follows:
* Action on 2nd reading of Ordinance No. 509 (Building permit fees)
* Action on Volunteer Fire Department 2023 roster
* Action on 1st reading of Ordinance No. 510 (sewer plant septic tank effluent tanks (STEP).
* Discussion/action of Housing grant from UCDD
* Discussion/ action of greens mower for the Smithville Golf Course
During the special called meeting, the aldermen will act on an ordinance on second reading to amend the current schedule of permit fees for building, mechanical, and plumbing upon the recommendation of the city’s building codes inspector Lewis Bryant.
Currently, building permits are calculated based on $80 per square foot cost for a single-family dwelling. Under this ordinance, the fee would increase to $120 per square foot cost. For example, the cost of a building permit for a 1,953 square foot structure would increase from the current fee of $694.10 to $951.50.
Mechanical permits currently include a $30 base fee for the first $1,000 and $3 for each additional thousand dollars. The new base fee would go to $50 for the first $1,000 and $5 for each additional thousand dollars.
The cost of a plumbing permit currently includes a $20 base fee plus $3.50 per fixture. The new plumbing permit would consist of a $40 base fee plus $5.00 per fixture.
According to the ordinance amendment, the final building permit valuation shall be set by the building official and may be adjusted upon current data provided by the International Code Council where applicable.
The ordinance amendment also establishes a $100 fee for consultation or inspection not otherwise covered by a building, mechanical, or plumbing permit.
Future installation of Septic Tank Effluent Pump Systems (STEP) by private developers may soon be prohibited in the City of Smithville.
During last week’s regular monthly meeting, Daniel Tribble, Manager of Field Services for JR Wauford and Company of Nashville recommended that the city adopt an ordinance or resolution to prohibit future installation of STEPs based on a new state law which requires municipalities to maintain them. JR Wauford is the city’s engineering consultant.
During the special called meeting February 28 the aldermen will act on such a proposed ordinance on first reading.
For several years the city has serviced a development on Coconut Ridge Road with these type STEP systems.
“In a typical sewer system, you have houses that discharge through plumbing to a gravity line which flow through manholes that go to pump stations which ultimately end up in your wastewater plant,” said Tribble. “Alternatively, you could have lines from a home that discharge into a tank which has a grinder pump that pumps into a low-pressure sewer line and then discharges to a gravity sewer line or another pumping station. We call that a STEP system (Septic Tank Effluent Pump System). These systems are not recommended for cities that have central wastewater collection systems like the City of Smithville does. You have manholes, gravity lines, and pump stations to take all this wastewater to your plant and treat it there,” Tribble continued.
“The State of Tennessee passed regulations in May 2022 that changed how cities and municipalities have to view the ownership and control of these STEP systems. It states low pressure pumps, low pressure tanks, septic tank effluent pumps, STEP tanks, and septic effluent gravity tanks are integral to the treatment and conveyance of sewer in a low-pressure system design and shall be owned or under control of the municipality, other body of government, public utility district, or a privately owned public utility demonstrating lawful jurisdiction over the service area. What that means is the city would be ultimately responsible for the maintenance of these low-pressure gravity sewer lines and pumps. Instead of pumps that you have to replace just at the pump stations everyone pumps to, effectively the city would be responsible for maintaining the pumps of every resident who had this type of (STEP) system. Some are already in the system on Coconut Ridge, but they are not desirable long term for the City of Smithville. Its our recommendation that you don’t allow these in the future,” said Tribble.
The City of Smithville has been approved for a grant to fund a transitional housing program for women in recovery from substance abuse.
Last April during a special called meeting, the aldermen voted to adopt a resolution authorizing the filing of an application for a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant for Recovery Housing through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development with no local grant match or costs to the city. The Upper Cumberland Development District applied for the grant on behalf of the city which is to be administered by the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency.
Under terms of the grant program, the UCHRA would manage the transitional housing facility as a city partner to serve from 8-12 females or women with children in recovery who would be charged rent to live there.
Contract terms between the city and UCDD/UCHRA, the partnering agencies, as to how the program would be operated and where it would be located are to be worked out if the aldermen move forward with the project. This issue will be up for discussion/action during the special called meeting February 28.