By Katie Northcott, News Director
At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 11, the Bedford County Board of Commissioners approved the formation of a Wastewater Advisory Committee after an hour of heated discussion.
The lead-up to the meeting had many Bedford County citizens wondering what the Board would decide and whether Bedford County Mayor Chad Graham would submit nominations for Wastewater Advisory Committee members.
The county’s Rules and Legislative Committee put the item calling for the formation of the committee on the agenda as well as the item asking the mayor for member nominations. However, the county Planning Commission later expressed in its meeting that the county should slow down so that the Planning Commission could give input on who the mayor should nominate.
The discussion was further complicated by Chris White, Bedford County Director of Planning and Zoning being on vacation at the time of the Board meeting.
“Chris White is not here–God bless him. He’s out of the country,” County Commissioner Keith Davis said. “I know there are people out that had some questions that … no one here can answer except for Chris White.”
During the meeting, the commissioners emphasized that the committee would serve in a purely advisory capacity to the Planning Commission. It will not have any authority, and it will not cost taxpayers any additional money. It exists to raise the county’s standards for wastewater regulations so that they are stricter than the State of Tennessee’s standards.
However, the commissioners couldn’t seem to agree about whether to move forward with the committee.
County Commissioner Anita Epperson made a motion that the Board defer the formation of the Wastewater Committee until the Board’s December meeting and send the item back to the Rules and Legislative Committee.
“I believe the Rules need to make a more clear motion of what they expect, and I would like to ask all the nominees whose names have been put forth that are interested in serving on the advisory committee to come to the Rules and Legislative [meeting] and speak to their credentials for being on the committee,” Epperson said.
The motion failed 9-8-1 (the motion required 10 “yes” votes to pass). County Commissioners Linda Yockey, Greg Vick, Mark Thomas, Tony Smith, Sylvia Pinson, Janice Brothers, John Boutwell, and Bill Anderson opposed. Commissioner Scott Johnson was absent from the meeting.
Those in favor of deferring said that they would like more information about the committee’s purpose and more time to talk to the mayor’s nominees. Some commissioners were concerned that the committee was being stacked with realtors and people already involved in the Planning Commission.
Alan Gill was the mayor’s nomination for committee chair. Graham’s nominations also included Planning Commission member Lynn Kasicki, Commissioner Boutwell, and Commissioner Davis. The mayor’s remaining nominations went to Kasey Kesselring and Samuel Coats.
“From what I heard in the first planning meeting when [Yockey] first brought it up to what I heard at the last planning meeting at the end of October, are almost different ideals,” Commissioner Diane Neeley said. “And that is why I cannot support this right now.”
Several commissioners expressed frustration that the mayor had waited until 2:44 p.m. the day before the meeting to send the commissioners his nominations. Commissioner Anderson defended the mayor’s actions, saying the mayor had been in contact with him about the nominations. The mayor also responded to the commissioners’ complaints.
“It’s in [the Board of Commissioners’] by laws, that … the executive branch puts names forward,” Graham said. “I thought I was doing good things by giving you names in advance versus just the night of the meeting under appointments to tell you the names that I was putting forward.”
Those in favor of forming the committee argued that it was better to move forward with the item instead of waiting longer to form the advisory committee. They emphasized that the committee members will serve for only a year, at which point the Board will decide whether it likes the work the committee has done.
“We don’t need some big fancy thing,” Vick said. “It’s not that complicated. I think we need to vote on this and move on.”
Commissioner Drew Hooker proposed an amendment that would require the advisory committee to form a plan for a decentralized wastewater system to bring to the Planning Commission within a 12-month period and would require the committee’s meetings to be livestreamed. His amendment was accepted.
The motion was also amended to form an advisory committee instead of an advisory board.
The commissioners passed the amended motion with a 13-0-4 vote (Epperson, Farrar, Maddox, and Neeley abstaining). They passed Graham’s nominations with the same vote count.
