Health, Welfare & Recreation Committee - Regular Meeting

Come on in, Jackie. Just in time. All right, we're live. You going to sit here? Turn you on.

You're on, man. All right, welcome everyone to this month's Health, Welfare, Recreation Committee. It's uh February 19th, 6 PM, and I'll call this meeting to order. Take the role. We have everyone here. Tim Morris is in the next room. Um, look at your agenda there. And I would uh entertain a motion to for someone to approve the agenda. I'll make the motion to approve the agenda. Rosanne with a motion to approve. I'll second.

Dwight with a second to approve the agenda. All in favor of approval of the agenda say I. I. Have it. All right. Public comments. Any public comments? Are you ready for me? Why not? Come on up and just turn your microphone on. Rosan, will you turn me on? Yes. Just push it. It's easy. I just want to make sure that I'm on. Thank you. Okay. As most of you know, I'm Judy Pew and I'm the spokesperson for the property owners and the residents along J Sartine Road, which are five residents and five or six. Uhhuh.

Five or six. Uhhuh.

Thank you. And then on their behalf, I'm requesting funding for city water to come on down the road. Now, this road is only 1.7 miles in its entirety. And everybody on this road has water that comes from a spring, a spring only. And all of us know that a spring is not a very reliable water source. Now granted development is coming but basic infrastructure is important also. Now for three years well actually it's longer than that. Since 2019, these res residents have been asking for not a luxury item, but they've been asking for something that just about every family in Coffee County takes for granted, and that's safe, clean, reliable water. How would you feel if you went into the bathroom or the kitchen and you turned on a faucet and muddy water came out? or how would you feel if you had to scoop mud out of a commode and replace the toilet valves on a regular basis? And now that's not even to mention washing machines and hot water heaters that have to be bought really on a more often basis than most people would buy them. You might say dig a well. Okay, we dug a well and it was 300 ft dry hole. Well, you could say install a holding tank. Okay, we contacted Pro Plumbing. The technician came out and his final words were, "I don't know of another place in Coffee County like

this. I'm sorry. I cannot help you." Was that like a Was that like a water cesterin that they would want that you looked at having putting in?

Well, or just something that you know could collect this water, but now you know keep in mind that it's getting less and less each year too. And with everybody on that road using it, you know, somebody cuts a tree down uh that it that interrupts the flow, you know, we just asked this technician for any help he could give. and he said, "I'm sorry. I can't help you." Now, we are most thankful that the county has approved $35,000 for the purchase of 4-in water pipes, and the city has agreed to install these pipes. However, the city is agreeing on 6in pipes only in order to provide the proper required fire protection. And for you see a 6 in pipe is needed to accommodate a fire hydrant. And with this information, let me give you a

and that that also could be like if anybody else ever built on that road, 6 in would help for more residents.

This is a letter that I received through text from uh Mayor Hobbs that I would like each of you to look at. Thank you. Thank you. Now, after I received this letter, I went to St. John engineering not realizing that Scott St. John had retired.

I didn't know that till I didn't

he just either he just did the first of the year I was told and then I spoke with Adam Carter and he informed me that an engineering plan would probably cost around $19,000. Now, the residents and the uh property owners will be paying $2,250 for each tap. And I have had some of the property owners say that they are committing to three taps. Now, with 6 in pipes costing $71,000 and an engineering plan costing $19,000, this comes to a total of 90,000. Supposing there were $4 million in the rural infrastructure fund, then we're only asking for a mere 2% to come back in our community.

What was the price for the 6 in? The 6 in pipe runs about not quite about $749 a foot to do that job. What was the total price? Oh, was 71,000. And that was the hybrid the valve whole width that that was the the pipe. Was that just the pipe? Just the pipe. And $19,000 was the engineering plan. Yes, sir. And how much was each um P?

$2,250. Now, I can assure you that more development will take place on J Sartin Road, which will involve more taxpaying dollars when City Water is available. So, we're only asking for a one-time investment of our tax dollar to come back into our community. Clear question. Yes, sir. Why are the others not wanting to tap What do you mean? You said there's three committed.

Oh. Oh, no. I meant one of the property owners is committed to taking three taps. Oh, no. No. They're definitely like for for future for future residents on the property or something. Well, no, because he has three residences on the three properties. Three of the five. I got you.

And then Mr. Um, Kenneth McMahan just bought the Wat property which is right at the very end and I have been told that he has talked with Mayor Hunt about bringing the city water down that line uh, road two. So, I feel like I haven't spoken with him in person, but his daughter-in-law told me yes, they are definitely interested in bringing city water down there or wanting city water. So, he'll be taking taps, too. Yeah. But he's going to benefit from the city or the county spending funds and then he he's going to develop it.

Well, no, I don't know. That's how I see. I don't know that he will. That's what everybody's going to do. That's right. But that that will be But then, okay, even if you do develop it, you're going to have more tax dollars coming back in to Coffee County, too. Yeah. The the problem I've always got, we're actually helping developers or anybody that wants to buy property and build because their property is worth a lot more with water. Well, that's true. That's very true. And see, this is so close to so close to Normandy Lake said I feel like it will

it's not the county's developed business or job to be doing these things. It's right back to why not Manchester Water. It's going to get developed. It's may happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen if they'll put the water in. They're just waiting on it. There's There's a lot down there that looks like they were going to build and I guess they didn't hit water so they they didn't build. Yeah, that's where the 300 foot dry hole is.

You're just you're you're basically you're asking for you're asking for the county to pay for 6 in line versus the 4 inch line, which would be $71,000. Yes, sir. Could this money not be recouped later on when these people come in? Some kind of search charge something? My first suggestion was that we'll get with Manchester Water and if we're going to do this, we're going to get a payback over time. Yeah. No interest. Yeah, I see. Because they're going to get all the revenue from now on. And they're not willing to do that. And it really doesn't make me happy.

Yeah. But see, and I understand where you're coming from. Manchester City wants 6 in. The county is willing to pay for 4 in. Bottom line is we still don't have any water. I agree. You know, it's like a It's a catch 22 in the middle. It's a catch 22. Yeah. The smart, you know, the smart thing would be to do for fire flow and for, you know, anybody else down there. That's a hollow down through there, right? Yes. Yes. See Kathy Reed six inch 6 inch line would be better than Paul

and you're going and that's what the engineer said. He said you and Jeff Perry said the same thing. He said you need to connect those two lines Kathy Ridge and 16th Model and and see they're right in between. You said you said in your initial statement that that we probably haven't experienced anything like this. Yes, sir. I I have. Have you? last week or so I've been I was without water for well over a week and that's not good. That's not good. And groundwater where it should be clear water and all this and then your plumbing company that you mentioned Pro Plumbing

Pro Plumbing they the ones that came out and there's ones I I came Yeah. See, this this is what we're dealing with, you know, and and it and you can see what I think they were a little bit expensive, but it's Yeah, but you have to have water. You can't do anything without water. Go take anybody you can get when you without water for a week. I'm not sure how you get the water so you can use it. That's what I mean. That's what I meant. And you know, there's been I I think Mr. Miller, you mentioned a filtering system that's got to be maintained. That has to be cleaned. Um

I I I try I'm trying to look at it like this. I live in the city and I you know the people in my district are city people and like they have access to water, right? Sewer and

and just keep this in mind. And I know we already we've already agreed for the 4 in line, but a lot of people in the county, they don't have the they don't have the same they don't have the same setup as like as we do in the city. They don't have like access to a lot of stuff. And from my understanding that our ruled infrastructure fund is set aside for like rural people, people that are way out in the county for infrastructure stuff. I I I see this I see it both ways like we don't they can't we don't need to get in the business of putting in people's water but like for you know for rural infrastructure money that can only been spent on rural people. Rural people sometimes need

you know that's why that rural infrastructure money set aside is for getting them water or or a county bridge or something that we can't get in the city. And uh I know Roseanne, she's in the county and Tim's in the county and they look the county. You're in the county, too? I am. Yeah. Well, I'm just saying I'm open-minded enough to know that I bought my property after the water lines were run. Gotcha. And that's what we're trying to do throughout the county that in that 5 acre deal we passed, right? Trying to get people to get infrastructure where they can build,

right? instead of making us go 10 miles out to a subdivision out here because somebody else developed it. But now somewhere in the development process, you wound up paying probably for that initial uh when I bought my propert when you bought your property. It includes what it cost to get that get to get it where it is. And could that not be included? That's all I'm saying. Could that not be included in in future property property sales or That's what we're trying to do now. And unfortunately, she's been there a long time. Mhm. Mhm.

This this is property that's been in the family for a long time. Years apparently. So, well, but see it it's dwindling. I mean you can see it's you never would have built if you wouldn't have thought you had water right but if you get all all kinds of other people coming and that area and see that and that's what's happening there will be more people there are more people coming yeah even but the main thing is to get is for them to have water that's already established make an initial investment somewhere so I think I think it was

well like I said I worked to home utilities for 24 years and we ran lines knowing there's not revenue at the time. It'll get developed. Yeah. Right down Kings Lane now where the uh there's a surgery center and the social security and all that. There was nothing right there. and a church wanted to put their uh property in right there and there was no sewer.

And we for paid that fairly short distance from Aoka down to uh Washington and ran all that and it took years before it started developing. And the first thing was the church who used water and sewer on Wednesdays and the Sunday, but but a little bit, but I think her situation's different because she's way out where you're talking about where Kings Lane was. That was like that was the principal I'm talking about. I know. But it's pretty close to city and they knew that that was going to be developed. I mean, I don't know how it's what I'm saying, right?

We did it knowing we're not going to get money for a long time. Why don't but it's our job to provide it because we do the water and sewer. But from my understanding, I don't really think the city was really even interested in really coming out that way because it's so far out there. Don't they have it at the end of the road? Start saying both what I'm doing. Well, they have it going up Kathy Ridge and they have it u 16th Model up 16th model. So they could they could they just they're trying to force well that's the problem you it also ties their system together which is a benefit to them and everybody else on the system.

That's why they want 6 inch and that's why they want it tied at both ends. We're not just running it down to them and chances are they weren't asking for it. They would already have it in the plans to do it. They're just not willing to do it. 2019 been trying to There's more If there was more customers down there, they would be all over it, I'm sure. Well, I wouldn't bet on it. They hadn't been willing to do anything yet. They're still selling permits, aren't they? To build and add onto their water. I mean, we see it in the news. Yeah. Sewer dabs. Yeah.

But you know what? What what what's the alternative? What are these residents to do for water when when this dries up?

Well, they are going to have to pay. That's my I mean, I'm I just know too many people that have to pay. They had to pay for it out of their pocket. I I know them. And And I have property that I would like to possibly put a house on. I got to spend $79,000 to go one mile. So, I I mean, who's to say who's next to say I want the county to spend their money. I I don't think that other taxpayers should have to spend their money on I mean, I understand that y'all need water, but that's what people do. They spend their money to pay for it. Would we run power lines?

The power lines are already there. I'm just saying if there's undeveloped property and people want to buy that there, would we pay the power lines just like we're talking about water? But you know, the former water director said, you know, why can't we do one project this year and then do another project next year and, you know, space it out that way? Hey, could we hold on just a second and approve these minutes and then I'll add Tim Morris to rule water and we can like tie all this together so we don't have to come right back.

We're just discussing right now anyway regardless Tim gets back in here. Y'all look over those minutes. If anybody if anybody's if anybody's moved to approve the minutes, please let me know. I bet you will. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes. Roseanne makes a motion to approve the minutes. Second. There you go. Second by Mr. Duncan. All in favor of approval of the minutes. Say I. I. I us have it. So I'll jump down here real quick to old business 6A Tim Morris. And we'll tie this Tim Morris real water into uh public discussion.

Will he be able to come over to our meeting? I will say he said that he would come over and vote. Um I I felt like that report should be included in the minutes. So I did send it in like that. You know what I mean? Mhm. Everybody needs Well, it Yeah, it's it's attached. It is. All right, Mr. Mr. Morris. Uh we're all out. Get your microphone. We tied uh public comments in with 6A, which is rule water. We're She's been We've been in discussion of this right now. Yes. So, Jackie's out.

Is he here? Yeah. He just walked out cuz he That was the letter I showed you. Do you have the copy of the letter that she received from Manchester City? Okay. Manchester City has told them that technically they have to pay for the study which Coffee County can't do and it needs to be a 6-in water line. I I don't know what else to do but just to ask HWR to see if we can move this forward uh in a form of a motion to see if there is enough money or to provide enough money to run a 6 in water line

for J Sarton Road. That's an additional comes to $36,000 extra dollars. Yes. On top of the 35,000 to make $71,000. Well, that's just the pipe, I think. That's all that's all that's all done. Yeah. Well, they they're going to insist, they said, on a fire hydrant. There's going to have to be a valve. It's not just the pipe. Is the water department going to pay for that? No, we will. That's not going to fund it. 71,000 won't fund a fire hydrant. I mean, that's all I'm trying to do is get the people water. If if we decide no here, my next thing is go to the March 5th water committee meeting of Manchester City.

I think that's what we need to be doing anyway. So that's all of us show up there. Why they keep wanting to push it on us down the road? It's not only we were willing to do all this at a smaller line and do all that. the uh people that need the water were willing to do both the pipe had somebody else to dig it and all that. They would not allow a tap and a meter to serve these people. They want their own system paid for and I'm against it. Okay.

If we were helping them and We could get that done. Rosanne, what do you what do you have on this? What's your input? My input is I feel like it's uh the responsibility of Manchester Water and Sewer. Um I I have a question. Is there some reason why St. John engineering it has to be the engineering? Well, I' I've asked that question, too. And I have once I was told that they had to do the engineering and then somebody else told me no. That that was not legal. So I don't know. Kind of what I was wondering.

Well, it's kind of like you got to have a 6 in. You got to tie it into both ends. They want it all. I don't know why they can't run a 4 inch line down to the end of the creek and finish it. That's what I said all along. Just put a tap there and a meter and these people can have water. I think I think they're just unwilling. I think what they've run into before with Hillsville when West Warner Hillsville I think West Warner's done good. Hillsville put in small lines and I think they wanted to make sure they were 2 inch. Right. Two inch. Yeah. They wanted to make sure that these are 4 inch that everybody was thinking in the future that we have big enough water lines that we don't

That's all true. I also bought another house in Oklahoma and they all there were 2inch lines run throughout that whole subdivision and it worked for a long time but eventually everybody realized it needs bigger utilities put in all the new lines to upgrade the 2 in that was there. They didn't keep asking somebody else to pay for that need to be done. You can't get fire protection and all that. I kind of I mean I see both points of I just kind of look at it like if we're sitting on $4 million worth of rural infrastructure money, $36,000 to get this problem fixed and solved a ain't a bad route to me.

That's true. That's not much. I mean, it's more $36,000 more than we originally said we was going to do, but it's, you know, it's it's it's fixing the problem. I'm going to say is what about the people that were standing outside when I was talking to them? People saying, "I'm beginning to get sulfur out of my well now. I want water." Are you gonna pay for everybody that needs that? I understand. That's what you're doing when you start do that. We can't This is a precedent lawsuits. This county loves to get lawsuits.

That's my problem. I love to help these people. And Miss Pew is as nice as you can find. I've tried. She's been really I've tried to be to try to deal with us, but I just can't get to that point. If I can't get a second, I will request everybody show up at the meeting March the 5th. I think we need to anyway and and figure out what going on. And I think not just this committee. Yeah. Any commissioner ought to come because I just don't think this is right that they assume we're going to do all this for them. After when's this meeting? Yeah. In what time? March 6th. March the 5th. Correct.

March 5th. March 5th. I'll send everybody an email if I can't get a second. If we if we after March 5th, our next meeting, our next meeting will follow this in March. Let's go this meet. Let's have this. Let's do this in March and see what happens in March. And then our next meeting, we'll we'll address this one way or another. Is that fair enough? After our March meet after this March 5th meeting. Okay. Now, this March 5th meeting is Manchester City. Manchester City Water Department. Is that fair enough? I will send everybody an email in the morning. I'll get it nailed down and I'll send everybody. So, we're going to meet with the water department, not the city council. Oh, the mayor will be there. He sits on it or something.

Will we be on the agenda? I can get us added. I mean, yeah. I don't want to just We can give public comments, too, but I'll get us added to the agenda, but our in our March meeting, we'll address this one to fund it. No, we can't fund it. This has to be sent before the full commission for funding. We can only recommend that it go up there and give it back to you. Now, can uh can you get in touch with me other than through the county mail system? Yes, sir. I'm not in some reason. I will have Laura call you. Okay. Whatever. Okay. I wrote good minutes last night, did I not? So, I I'll follow through. But this is Manchester City Hall meeting. Yes, sir.

Do you know what time it is? I'll I'll pull it. Where are we going to meet? At water and sewer or at city hall? City hall. City hall. I will get it all down. Okay. And get us on the agenda. Okay. All right. I have to go back to this other one now. If everybody wants to come, y'all just What are you What are you doing? We're in BCA. We have a room full. Have what? Have a room full. I noticed that. That's what I was wondering. Thank you, Tim. Come on over. We'll get through and get over. Miss Pew, is that fair enough? I think it's fair as long as as long as you stay on this one more month. No, honey. As if it's been since 2019, I don't think a few more months would matter.

We could get you water if they would cooperate. I just we just want water, you know? That's the bottom line. That's all it would need. I mean, in the very beginning, they had someone to do the work and then then oh no, it's got to be by our people. Now they're telling you what engineering firm and then you got to do this and also what you hadn't factored in. They said in the past we're going to bed that means a bunch of rock gravel. You had on them. That's on them. No, that's not what they said. Y'all hadn't factored half of this in. If we only know what you're talking about. I just I just don't.

But if we only if we only if it's only funded for 71,000, anything over that they got we just served we just funded 35 and didn't work. So why you think that's going to be all right? Cuz that 71 doesn't include the fire hydrants or the if that's all you agreed to. That's all we're getting. Well, that's what we did agree to. Now we're back in. So what I'm saying is you might as well not be saying any of this. because it doesn't affect anything until Manchester decides they're going to move. Well, I mean, all we can If we went to 500,000. Well, and they said, "Well, we want one more thing."

Well, maybe when you said that, that made me think. We looked into a grant and that was supposed to be like an 8020 grant. That would be and the county would have to come up with $500,000. You know what? On a grant, the county can do that a lot easier without saying we're going to start something we shouldn't be doing. I just, you know, like I said, we just want water. I want you to have water. Like I said, if we could run you a 2inch line, I'd pay for it. Can I put that down? Okay. So I guess March 5th

then after that our next month the meeting in March will address it. March 5th will be on a Thursday night starts. It's only about two weeks. Yeah. The first is on a Sunday. Yep. Thursday night. Okay. Do you know what time does anybody know what time they have them? It's usually 5:30. He's going to send send an email. He said usually but Tim T will find out for sure. Okay. I mean I've been to many of those meetings. I should know but it's been a little bit. Well, I tried to go to some of those meetings when we were talking about uh running water and sewer out the 104 105. Couldn't get anywhere with trying to work with Manchester then. See,

they wanted the county to pay for that, which has got nothing to do with the county. This is the issue. You know, I'm having to deal with county and city. You're learning a lot. Oh, yes. I have learned a lot. I've learned water pun for office. No, run for office next time. No, that's what uh Mark Messik said. Say I'm not running. You can have my smoke. But you know, this is the hardest challenge I've ever undertaken. I understand. The hardest. Hey, listen. Trying to part someone with from their money is always the hardest thing. Yes. Yes, sir. the money issues seem like it's always hard for

and then see but then I have to deal with city understand an animal shelter animal it's it's like you know where are the priorities cost of money because they're going to have to staff it you know if you run your water lines you'll have customers all right Miss Pew thank you we're going to move on okay thank you everybody for your time we have animal control up next. We don't have anybody here from animal control, so we can scratch that. I was I was hoping that somebody from rural fire would be here. Yeah, I couldn't Nobody had really anything going on. It's all been kind of quiet, so Well, you know, North North K. We'll see you in a couple weeks. We'll meet again.

So, we meet again. You will be there, won't you? Yes, I will. Um, North, you know, North Coffee wrecked one of their trucks and, you know, and I was kind of hoping they might be here because there's a bunch of people wondering. Yeah, they're on Feral Hill Road. All right, moving on from that. Any new business that we need to discuss? Yeah, we'll discuss the the Miss Q thing. Our next meeting, our set a time for our next meeting. Let's shoot for about the 26th of March. That'll be on Thursday. I won't be here. Okay.

Can we do Can we do the 24? Will it 24th? Can you be here on 24th? We can do 24. 24 would actually be better. I think there's a meeting that day on a Tuesday, but that we're we're usually late, so we can usually they're usually getting done at 6 when we start. So, I think there's there's What's the What's the uh the commission meeting in March? That'll be the That'd be the 10th, right? It would be the 10th, I would think. Yeah, we got the 19th. Let's

Let's see if we can shoot for the 24th. That would be good. We can do that. Okay. Let's go. Let's go meeting at the 24th at 6 o'clock. That'll give us if I find there's a conflict, I'll let you know. Okay. Um All right. All right. So now that that being settled, let's uh anybody want to move to make a motion for German? I'll make that. Mr. Miller makes a motion for German. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Mr. Duncan for adjournment. All in favor of adjourning this meeting say I. I. Let's have it. Thanks everyone for coming and

thank you. We'll see everyone on the 24th. We got time to make another meeting here now. I'm going out of town in the