Talk Union County Blog

Highlights from Luttrell City Council’s December Meeting

LUTTRELL CITY HALL - Ups and downs peppered the December Luttrell City Council meeting.

LOW BRIDGE

Some bad news came in the form of a negative bridge evaluation from TDOT. City Council assured us that the bridge is currently safe to use. However, the bridge in question, located on Union Avenue in Jim Town, is old and starting to show signs of wear and tear. The final verdict on whether or not the bridge can be repaired or if it must be replaced, has yet to be determined. Either situation will prompt the City of Luttrell to undertake a substantial financial outlay. With luck, the bridge will not need to be replaced and funds may be augmented by an emergency repair grant from the state. Failing these optimistic projections, the city may find itself facing a blow to both infrastructure as well as its bank account.

RULES FOR RECREATION

The parks and recreation committee, led by Johnny Merritt, has been working on establishing a formal set of guidelines for the use of its facilities. These policies are being constructed in order to better service the public while making sure that groups and individuals using city buildings are treated equally. Furthermore, these guidelines will help prevent avoidable damage to structures which the committee hopes will lower maintenance costs and eventually reduce the overall operating fees. All this translates to more services to the citizens of Luttrell, and a welcome cultural boon for the city itself.

LIBRARY

Work to rid the library’s sheetrock finishing of several imperfections has been ongoing since city council’s decision last month to withhold payment from the contractor until council was satisfied that the finish was up to standards. Because visible improvements have been made to the finish, Mayor Dyer suggested that the city should, in a show of good faith for the work that has been done, pay the contractor for all work minus the ten percent retainer. The remaining ten percent, will not be paid until the city has inspected and approved of the final finish.

By withholding the retainer, the council insures that if work is not completed by the current contractor to their satisfaction they will be able to either negotiate with the contractor or use the forfeited funds to hire a new contractor.

An informal inspection of the new library by city council is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Dec. 30th.

OTHER ITEMS

–The city voted to take bids on a 22×66 shed to be built to cover sewer sludge.

–City council had its first reading on an ordinance designed to budget for insurance costs associated with the city’s sewer system.