The Luttrell City Council met in regular session on Feb 17.
Present: Mayor Jerry Lawson, Councilman Kyle Muncey, Councilman Lloyd Railey, Councilman Phil Ruth, Councilman/Vice Mayor Jody Smith.
Absent: Councilman David Williams
Jackie Conley brought in a beautiful hand-crafted quilt that she created with iconic images of Luttrell’s past. She is leaving the quilt on display for a season, so you may want to come to the next city council meeting to take a closer look. You can also see it by visiting Luttrell City Hall during their normal business hours of Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, due to the small yet very busy staff, you may want to call first. The phone number is 865-992-0870.
The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance being led by Railey, and the Invocation by Lawson, who then addressed the following city business:
Streets
• Jim Town Road has trees down.
• Crew is working to get the Bower Hollow cleaned out. The hope is that once they see a little daylight through the 18” tile, the fire department can then clean it out with a hose.
• A citizen had a concern about a tree that needed to be dropped on Bower Hollow, so the city assisted by providing lights so it could be safely dropped.
• There is a dead line down on Bower Hollow. Lawson contacted Knoxville Utility Board (KUB), AT&T, and Comcast; all deny that it is their line. Again, it is certain that the line is dead, so it maybe just be rolled up for now.
• There is an approximately three-foot by four-foot pothole on Luttrell/Corryton Road, which is on county property, Smith to notify the county.
• Question was raised about the progress on Tazewell Pike, per TN Department of Transportation (TDOT) no news yet.
• Litter pickup is needed again; council members discussed working with Keep Union County Beautiful, but that would only address one designated area. Council agreed on the need to hire someone to clean all roads within the city limits.
Sewer
• Currently the city has two grants on the table: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is getting appraisals done, and the Mapping Grant is due to begin work the end of April. Mapping will include marking the pipes, air pockets, and valves; and the information will be provided with both a print map and CD. City employees to assist by clearing out grass, gravel, etc. around valves to assure that all are recorded. These grants have a small match for the city.
• The January assessment of the sewer plant shows that it is in compliance.
• Lawson notified the council that there was a leak in the sewer line that required cutting through asphalt and digging out to repair, so expect a $2900 expense for the repair plus the cost to replace the asphalt.
• The issue was raised that a citizen had dug and hit the sewer line unaware that it was there (per Lawson it was likely feeding the property above him). He called the city to request repair due to not seeing a sewer line recorded on his deed. Smith asked whether he had called 811 before digging. Ruth asked if the city employees were in the practice of calling 811 before digging, and advised if not in the practice to make sure they do going forward. Moral of the story: Always, Always, Always call 811 before digging!
• Lawson interviewed applicant Matthew Wheeler, who has operator licenses and several qualifications, but lacks the waste water collections certification. Motion was approved to offer a part-time position to Wheeler. Waste water training is only available twice a year, and the next available class is not until November. The council requested that City Recorder Courtney Luttrell reach out to Fleming Training Center to confirm the class dates and register city employees. Ms. Luttrell will also reach out to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to inform them that Luttrell has a need to get employees certified for wastewater collections due to a retiring crew member, and she will follow it up with a letter detailing the plan of action to get employees trained as soon as the course is available. It takes employees approximately 10 hours per week to collect samples, which is a considerable savings compared to the $400-500 per week to have a third party do it. Council also plans to reach out to applicant Travis Hartman to see if he is still interested in the wastewater service technician job, and to see if he is willing to obtain certification.
• Seven lift station pumps are out of service. Most stations have two pumps and one was rebuilt this month. Lawson shared the goal of getting one rebuilt per month until all are repaired. The CDBG is for one station; Smith questioned whether there might be funds left over to help with pump repair cost after primary responsibility of the grant is completed.
Parks & Recreation
The only issue is with five lights. Mention was made of the Music Festival at Luttrell City Park on May 23.
Lawson also shared an email from Dr. Jimmy Carter of Union County Public Schools inviting council members to the track meet on March 17 when the city of Luttrell will be recognized.
Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.