The Smithville Aldermen Monday night adopted on second and final reading an ordinance to annex six parcels of property and a portion of another parcel as well as the right of way of Old Snow Hill Road and part of Nashville Highway (Highway 70) on the west side of the city.
Within thirty days, the properties Ed Young, Mike Foster, Dr. David Foutch, Pat Walls, John Kilgore, and Jim Beshearse will be annexed into the city.
(TO VIEW CLOSE UP OF ANNEXATION MAP CLICK PDF LINK BELOW)annexation map_0.pdf (341.79 KB)
The aldermen also approved on second and final reading an ordinance to amend the zoning map of the city to include three of these parcels in the R-1 Residential Zone along with a portion of the Right of Way on the Old Snow Hill Road.
A third ordinance was adopted on second and final reading to amend the zoning map to include the remaining parcels in the B-2 General Business District as well as a portion of the right of way of Nashville Highway (Highway 70). These parcels include Kilgore’s Restaurant, Dr. Foutch’s Eye Care office, the old Beshearse Grocery store building, and Young’s undeveloped property.
Public hearings were held on the proposed annexation and zoning ordinances prior to final passage, but no opposition was expressed by anyone in attendance.
In accordance with state law, the aldermen last month adopted a resolution outlining a Plan of Services (POS) including sewer, that will be made available to the land being annexed and the timeframe within which services and/or amenities are to be provided. The city’s plans for making sewer services available to the annexed area have been sent to the state for approval.
In other business, the aldermen awarded a bid in the amount of $28,500 to the Putnam County Tree Service to cut and remove trees that are penetrating the approach paths at the airport in violation of FAA regulations. This was the only bid received. The city has already secured a $50,000 grant with a five percent local match for the work to be done.
Airport Manager Wesley Nokes explained last October why the work is needed. “It’s been several years since the approaches at the airport have been cleared from obstructions. You are required by the FAA to maintain your approaches. An approach is an imaginary trapazoid that extends off each end of the runway. It’s basically like a square ice cream cone and the farther you go out the higher up it gets. It starts at the ground on the runway. Right off the end of the runway, you have to keep that pretty well free and clear of trees and other obstacles. We have some trees that have grown up and according to the FAA survey these trees are penetrating our approaches now. We’re going to have to remove them. TDOT advised us to apply for a grant for $50,000 to clear all these obstacles. It is a 95/5% matching grant. A five percent cost to the city, which is $2,500. The FAA can shut down our approaches because of this and they actually have shut down our night time GPS approaches at the airport. This is something we need to get taken care of pretty quickly. You can land at night in VFR which is good weather. When the weather is marginal, that’s when your GPS approaches are not valid,” said Nokes.
The aldermen will soon start work on the proposed 2014-15 fiscal year city budget. A workshop has been set for Thursday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. at city hall. City department heads will meet with the mayor and aldermen and city financial advisor Janice Plemmons-Jackson to make their budget requests for the new year.
City building codes inspector Eugene O’Neil resigned his position as of April 30th. The aldermen voted to hire Lionel Williams of Cookeville to replace O’Neil as codes inspector, at least on a temporary basis for now. City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson said Williams is certified and currently does codes inspections for DeKalb and other cities and counties in the area.
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