Transportation, water and wastewater are two of the top infrastructure needs of Bedford County, according to a report released by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR).

But while TACIR corrected figures for Bedford County schools, other amounts remain unchanged. Local officials are still scratching their heads, wondering where TACIR got its data.

One utility said it has not even submitted data to the state body.

The report claims that officials in Bedford County reported their top areas of need to be transportation at $87.1 million and water and wastewater at $21.1 million.

David Crowell, general manager of Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewer, told the T-G Wednesday that his office had not sent any records to anyone regarding infrastructure.

"I guess we need to find where these came from," he said, speaking about the TACIR figures.

Catherine Corley, senior research associate with TACIR, said Wednesday that data was collected from the South Central Tennessee Development District.

Crowell said that the city has a wastewater plant project on the horizon, designed to handle 6.5 million gallons a day and estimated to cost around $25 million.

"All of our major projects are done except for that," Crowell noted.

Marty Davis, general manager of Bedford County Utility District (BCUD), said that while he was not sure where the numbers in the report came from as it applied to city and county water systems, there are many households in the county requesting service.

A list of 250 residents without water service on 12 to 15 different roads was given recently to County Mayor Eugene Ray by Davis. The list was created after concerns arose over the drought situation this summer.

The work to service these potential customers would require 28 to 30 miles of water line, costing an estimated $2.5 to $3 million, not counting the Wartrace, Bell Buckle or Flat Creek areas. Davis added that there are some in the county they have not identified simply because no one has asked for water.

"That's pretty expensive per home ... and when a tap fee is only $1,500, that won't pay for it. We've got to figure out some way to finance this."

This amount does not include the approximately $5 million worth of capital improvement projects that will need to be completed in the next three to 10 years, Davis explained. These are necessary upgrades required to keep the water flowing in the county, he said.

Davis added that BCUD is not a county entity, but a public utility that is not part of the county government, and as a result it must operate on money it collects from customers.

"The need greatly outstrips the capacity to pay out of pocket," Davis said. BCUD applies for grants to fund some projects, which is the only time the utility receives funds from federal and state sources.

The utility plans to apply for another grant, but it will be until winter or spring 2009 before it can be submitted. A grant is pending for Flat Creek Water Cooperative. If that grant is approved, the project will be done next fall.

"The need is great and critical too," Davis said, referring to the continuing drought. "We used to take water for granted, now the dry weather brings us back to reality that you don't take anything for granted, not even water."

Bedford County's water and wastewater infrastructure needs, at $511 per capita, are lower than the statewide average of $542, the report states.

Highway superintendent Stanley Smotherman also said that he was not aware where the TACIR data came from, but stated that roads in the county are taking twice as much traffic as they did 10 years ago.

He also pointed out that while there has been talk about building a bypass around Shelbyville for more than a decade, no work has begun. Also, it appears that there will be no progress on widening U.S. 41-A to Tullahoma this year.

"We have more needs than we have money," Smotherman said, adding that it's usually the case of which wheel squeaks the loudest that will get the grease, or funding in this case.

Smotherman added that many county roads need work, but the cost of work goes up as property values rise resulting in more expenses in right of way acquisition.

The county's estimated transportation needs per capita are $2,113, lower than the statewide estimate of $2,316, the TACIR report says.

The report claims that Bedford County officials reported infrastructure needs totaling $210.8 million. "They have identified $34.6 million of $166.3 million (20.8 percent) to be available to meet needs for which funding information was reported," it states.

According to the report, the county's total estimated cost per capita for new or improved infrastructure is $7,076 compared with $4,804 statewide.

In a TACIR press release, Dr. Harry Green, executive director, said, "It should concern us all that local officials across the state are only confident of less than half of the funds necessary to meet the needs they have identified."

"There was no county in which officials are confident of having all the funds necessary to meet identified needs," Green remarked.

The report also stated that Bedford County ranked 14th in total estimated infrastructure needs per capita at $7,076, 25th in population gain between 1990 and 2003 (10,822) and 34th in total population (41,233) when the 95 counties in Tennessee were compared.

Statewide, the top three areas of need are transportation at $13.7 billion, public schools at $3.6 billion, and water and wastewater at $3.2 billion, the report says.

The full report can be found on TACIR's web site at www.state.tn.us/tacir/infrastructure.htm.