By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.—With an eye toward becoming a Municipal Utility Authority, the Paris Board of Public Utilities Tuesday authorized Chairman David Flowers to sign a letter of intent with Raymond James & Associates for Municipal Advisory Services.
BPU General Manager Terry Wimberley said discussions with City of Paris and BPU officials have been ongoing for some time about BPU becoming a Public Utility Authority. He said City Manager Kim Foster and Wimberley agree that separating the financial, contractual and legal ties would provide advantages for both the city and BPU.
He said legislation passed in 2016 and 2017 allows the decision to be made at the local level. A Municipal Utility Authority is an independent government entity.
Wimberley noted that BPU has used Raymond James & Associates and its representative Rick Dulaney on many occasions over the years as a financial consultant. “As we move toward becoming a Municipal Utility Authority, BPU has need to establish its own relationship with Raymond James,” he said.
The change will not be noticeable to customers or employees, Wimberley said, “but this will untie the debit, budget and audit from the city of Paris. It also will provide flexibility for us to establish public/private partnerships which will be a positive for the community.”
Wimberley said he and Foster “have been talking about this for several months and the city is looking at this as a good thing. It looks like it would be a good thing for both entities.”
He said other Utility Authorities in west Tennessee that the public would be familiar with include the Union City Energy Authority, Brownville Utilities, Bolivar Energy Authority and the Jackson Energy Authority.
BPU would not be changing its name, Wimberley said. “I don’t think we need to change what people know us as,” he said.
Formal approval will occur later by both BPU and the city.
In other business:–Wimberley reported that a sewer line collapsed near the Sonic restaurant and is in the process of being repaired. He said the collapse had nothing to do with the ongoing work along Veterans’ Drive by a private developer. The line that collapsed was about 50-60 years old.
“This is a line we knew needed to be dealt with,” Wimberley said. BPU has set up a pump along Veterans Drive and is temporarily pumping around the collapse. It will cost some $179,000 to repair the 650’ line “and we’re fortunate that such a costly repair fell into the area of something that was already going to be funded” through the USDA.
Wimberley said, “This are the challenges that the wastewater department faces on a regular basis.”
–The BPU approved signing of a Continuing Services Agreement with OHM Advisors, which is a newly-formed engineering firm focused in the area of water and wastewater engineering services. Jason Griffin, formerly with Jacobs Engineering, is in charge of the Nashville office and has worked with BPU on numerous projects and funding opportunities over the years.
Photo: BPU General Manager Terry Wimberly reviews reports with the board members. (Shannon McFarlin photo).