By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–At a busy meeting Thursday evening, the Paris City Commission acted on several items of business, including the new property tax rate, the paving of Chickasaw and Washington Streets, and the ongoing Brooks St. drainage problems.
Commissioners voted to maintain the current property tax rate. The current rate is $0.90 per $100 assessed value. The new rate will show no increase from the certified rate of $0.5703 per $100 of assessed value.
City Manager Kim Foster said the estimate to put a layer of pavement over the road from Washington Street in the area of Knott’s Foods all the way over to where Chickasaw meets Wood Street is $196,800.
The latest update from Paris Board of Public Utilities CEO Terry Wimberley is that “they are at least two to three years from being able to start the rehab project that will require street cuts for every house in this stretch.”
Additionally, Foster said, line failures occur regularly which require cuts. Foster asked for direction from the commission. After discussion, commissioners said the project should continue on the city’s paving schedule.
Foster reported that bids for the Brooks St. project were opened and the low bid came in $500,000 higher than the $1.497M water infrastructure grant awarded for the project (with a 10 percent match). Foster said the project is ‘the most problematic over time and I would hate to have to go to the Brooks St. neighborhood and tell them we’re sorry.” After discussion, commissioners said the project should continue, with additional funds coming from general fund.
In other business:
–Foster thanked TDOT for additional funding for two traffic grants. Right of way package submitted to TDOT in June and is under review for the access grant for four downtown intersections. Additional funding of around $113,000 was approved by TDOT due to a delay in getting the project to bid. As for the access grant for Tyson, Mineral Wells intersection upgrades and sidewalk, additional funding of just under $20,000 was rwequested from TDOT due to a delay in getting the project to bid. TDOT also approved the additional funds.
–The commission approved a new interlocal agreement between the city and W.G. Rhea Library. Foster explained, “When addressing the replacement of certain library board members the County and City realized that the interlocal agreement between the two of them, signed in 1971, no longer reflected changes that the library board has made over time to their by-laws. The following interlocal agreement serves as an updated agreement that correctly reflects current operating processes and procedures and outlines each entity’s.”
—The commission approved an ordinance with proposed fees charged through municipal court. Foster explained, “Legislation passed during the most recent legislative session requires an increase in the amount we collect for the municipal court cost from $1.00 to $2.00. Additionally, the Police Department plans to implement software that will enable them to generate electronic citations. Tennessee Code Annotated allows for the department to add a $5.00 fee to these citations to help defray the cost of this software.”
Photo: City Manager Kim Foster, left, in discussion with City Attorney James Smith and Commissioners John Etheridge and Jackie Jones. Shannon McFarlin photo.