By Katie Northcott, New Director
At its meeting on Thursday, May 7, the Manchester Water & Sewer Commission approved a $20 million bond.
Manchester Mayor Joey Hobbs submitted the request to the commission, saying that he wanted to take out the bond by July 1. He said the bond would be granted in $10 million increments and estimated that it would take six to 10 months to spend the first $10 million. Hobbs said taking out the bond in increments would delay its financial impact on the city.
“We spent probably $14 million over the last year in this department,” Hobbs said. “There’s no sense in slowing down now. We’re making really good strides.”
Hobbs said the city had turned in a 3-year plan to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation on how to improve the city’s Water & Sewer infrastructure and that the city will need more money to implement the plan. He said the city would pay off a different bond for Water & Sewer projects in 2028, so he thought it would be a good time to take out a new bond.
Hobbs said that he had formulated the “aggressive” 3-year plan with Finance Director Anthony Burrows and Water & Sewer Director Lonnie Foley. The plan involved prioritizing the long-term welfare of the city’s infrastructure.
“Let’s quit trying to skimp and put in a 10-inch or a 12-inch line when we really need to put in a 16-inch line because we’re planning for 10 years’ worth of growth,” Hobbs said. “We’re trying to figure out what the next 10 years looks like so that when we do this, we only do it one more time for 10 years and then we give it to the next people.”
Hobbs did not present the plan to the commission. Commission Chairman Gary Hunt asked how soon Hobbs was looking for approval from the commission.
“Do we need a motion on that now? Or do we need a little more specifics on it?” Hunt said.
Hobbs said that the commission could approve “the concept” of a $20 million bond at its May meeting, and Foley would present the list of planned projects for approval at the June meeting. Hobbs said that the city did not yet “have every project defined,” so the presentation would break the spending into categories, not specific projects.
“You’ll get to see the list [of projects]. You’ll get to negotiate the list,” Hobbs said. “And I can’t tell you specifically how the second $10 million is going to be spent other than it’s going to be percentages.”
Hobbs assured the commission members that each project would come before the commission for approval before being initiated.
Alderman Thomas Crosslin made a motion to approve the bond contingent on the list of projects to be presented in June. The motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Benjamin Peiffer was absent from the meeting. The bond will go to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for final approval.
Hobbs said that the city would continue to apply for grants whether the bond is approved or not.
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