News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cumberland Water Authority has set August 7th as the date for its summit, where it will create an action plan to merge five districts into one.
Board Chair Greg Hanson said the authority completed administrative setup and organizational procedures in previous meetings. He said the summit brings together all four utility districts plus the city utility for strategic planning and consensus on an action plan.
Hanson said every utility will share a snapshot of their current situation.
“We want them to give us a background into how their systems function, how many customers they have, what they look like financially, what their concerns are relative to operations in the future and what would give them the initiative to become a member of the water authority,” Hanson said.
Hanson said the authority had invited Dickson County Water Authority to share their experience in becoming a regional water authority. He said Dickson was the only county in Tennessee that had formed a regional water authority.
Hanson said there would also be a representative from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). He said TDEC administers the American Rescue Plan grants offering up to $20 Million for utility districts and water authorities to apply for.
“We’re not at the point yet where we would be able to successfully apply for one of those,” Hanson said. “But I want our board members and all of our stakeholders to understand what is out there and the process to successfully compete for those.”
Hanson said most of the utility districts or the city water department had had representatives at all of the the board meetings to date or they had requested a presentation to their local meetings.
“So I think the four boards and the city certainly have a pretty good sense for where we’re at,” Hanson said. “Both mayors have been intimately involved and generally in attendance at meetings. So I would say folks are cooperative.”
Hanson said the public is welcome to attend the summit. He said the date and location will be shared once arrangements finalized.
Edit August 1, 2023: The meeting will be held August 7 at 6:00 pm at the Cumberland Medical Center, 421 S. Main St., Conference Rooms A & B (main entrance, elevator to 2nd floor, turn left).
