A Crossville City Council work session Monday was held at the request of councilman Jesse Kerley for the purpose of discussing combining the engineering and public works department.
Kerley's suggestion was to put former engineering department head Tim Begley, who is now the public works director, in charge of both departments. Begley has worked towards an engineering license but has not taken the final steps to become a fully licensed engineer.
City manager Ted Meadows addressed his concerns about the idea and said that he felt there was more work than a single person could do and adequately and still fulfill expected requirements of both jobs. He added that engineers do not always think like managers.
Meadows said that he felt the city engineer is a full time job if used properly. According to Meadows, there are 10 major projects on the city's plans that would need the skills an engineer would bring to oversee the projects and protect the taxpayers' interests including the very large project of raising the dam at Meadow Park Lake.
Meadows pointed out that so far this decade the city has had 26 projects costing over $25 million that included over $1 million of change orders. Meadows said that not all change orders are bad, but some could be avoided with better oversight. He also said that a $300,000 concession building at Centennial Park probably could have been done for less money with a city engineer to design it and a city construction crew to build it.
Other council members weighed in generally against the idea as well. Councilman Wyatt commented that he felt the public works director needed to be in the field and not in a city hall office.
Councilman Kerley said he just wanted to discuss the idea he had and that if the other council members were against it, then it was a dead issue.
Ted Meadows summed up the discussion by saying the city had found what he felt was a good match for the new city enegineer and Kerley's question had prompted him to do additional research into outsourcing more of the city services. Currently the city has a very successful contract with Veolia Water on the operation of the wastewater treatment plant. He added that many municipalities do much more with outside contractors and he would be looking at how cost savings might possible with all city departments except police and fire.
Area News
Majority on council feel engineer staff position is needed
- Area News
-
-
Plane has rough landing
No one was injured when a pilot veered off a runway to avoid a deer that was in the path of his light airplane as he landed the craft.
-
Lemert grave site rededication set Monday
The restoration of the gravesite of 1st Sgt. Milo Lemert, Cumberland County's only WWI Medal of Honor recipient, is finally complete after months of repair and rebuilding. A special dedication will be held May 28 at the City Cemetery at Sgt. Lemert's gravesite. The dedication will immediately follow the 11 a.m. annual Memorial Day Ceremony for Cumberland County in downtown Crossville. The public is invited to both events.
-
County to use new district boundaries to fill vacancy
The Cumberland County Commission approved a resolution to use new district boundary lines in the August County General Election in order to fill the vacancy created by the death of 9th District Commissioner Clyde Cramer.
-
THP to enforce seat belt usage this Memorial Day weekend
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is planning to step up efforts to enforce seat belt usage over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. State Troopers along with other state and local law enforcement agencies are participating in the national seat belt enforcement campaign, Click it or Ticket, May 21 through June 3.
-
Shooting victim identified; accomplice jailed
A burglar who fled from a home invasion after his partner was shot by a resident may be held responsible for his friend's death, sources close to the investigation of Tuesday's fatal shooting have told the Chronicle.
-
Healthy eating, activity earn CO honors
Students at Crab Orchard Elementary have been eating better and getting more activity during the past school year. Those efforts have been recognized with prestigious awards for school health.
-
Defendant pleads guilty to avoid jail
A Crossville area man told a Criminal Court judge earlier this month he was entering a plea of guilty to fraud to keep from going to jail.
-
Man sentenced in sexual battery, statutory rape cases
A Crossville man charged with raping one woman and with having sexual relations with an underaged teen in a separate incident has pleaded guilty to related charges and was sentenced to jail.
-
County to build, operate Big South Fork Visitor's Center
The Big South Fork Visitor's Center may become a reality after the county commission narrowly approved building and operating the facility once the project is completed.
-
One dead in shooting near PH
One person is dead, a homeowner slightly injured, and at least a third person is in custody following a fatal shooting that may have been sparked by a home invasion near the Pleasant Hill community. And a fourth person might be connected with the incident.
- More Area News Headlines
-
Plane has rough landing
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
