Wartrace awards bids for water line upgrades

Wartrace has moved another step closer to completing its connection deal with the Tullahoma utilities board.

The Wartace Board of Mayor and Alderman approved a bid Monday night for water line work that will connect the two municipalities, as well as for work on the line to George Dickel Distillery. An additional bid was let on water lines on Lee and Haley roads, but their completion may depend on future funding.

Clanton Paving of Shelbyville won all three bids, contingent on the town engineer's verification of the bid numbers. The winning bid for the TUB line was $355,250; on the Dickel line, $131,950; and on the Lee and Haley lines, $172,250.

When the two towns finally connect and water starts flowing from Tullahoma, it will mean one less expense for Wartrace -- overtime. Town recorder Laura Gentry told the board that the overtime pay has been unavoidable.

"That's because of the times we have to check the chlorine until we connect to TUB," she said. "There's no getting around that."

Bryan Smith, head of the public works department for the town, said he has had problems getting someone to videotape the interior of the sewer line on Sunset. Members of the board thought a video of the system shot previously still existed, but the company that made it has since gone out of business and the video could not be found. The stretch of road has seen serious flooding in the past, but without video to go by, the town would have to tear up the road, Smith said in a previous meeting. By videotaping the pipes, the exact problem spots could be isolated and remedied.

While the stretch of trouble areas is too large to excavate, Smith said the problem is, it is too small to make the job worthwhile to many contractors.

"It's such a small job, guys are not wanting to show up for it," he said, then he expressed concern about future flooding problems. "I'm afraid we're going to have a big issue with it."

Mayor Don Gallagher urged Smith to get the line videotaped as soon as possible.

No blasting zone

Both Smith and Gallagher expressed their satisfaction with the work being done by Williamson Construction Co. on Cortner Road. Previously, concerns had been raised about the possibility of blasting on the water line construction site, with ramifications including foundation damage to neighboring homes. The company, however, has not had to do any blasting at all so far, Smith said.

"The ground's kind of fooled them," he said, adding that the large rocks they have encountered so far have been able to be removed without dynamite, and the soil beneath them has been workable. Smith did warn that farther down the line, that might not be the case and the company may have to resort to blasting.

"They're doing a tremendous job," he said, telling the board that the project was ahead of schedule.

Tree lighting

The mayor reminded everyone that the town's official tree lighting ceremony will be Friday at 6:30 p.m., in front of the Wet Your Whistle restaurant, which will also host the hospitality gathering afterward. Work on the Town Hall, where the event is usually held, is not completed.

Variance denied

The Board of Zoning Appeals denied a variance requested by Bratton Tucker, who had requested he be allowed to put a carport on the driveway in front of the United Methodist parsonage. Because the town's ordinances don't allow carports or similar structures to be placed in front of a residence, the request for a variance was denied.

Memorials offered

Alderman Ed Simpson told the board that he received a bid for the stone memorial markers that will be placed in the town's park. The markers will be 9 inches by 12 inches and 4 inches deep and will be engraved by the company providing them. The markers will cost $125 and will be used to designate the memorial trees that are being planted by the tree board. The town received a matching grant for the trees, many of which will replace those lost to the hard freezes and drought of recent years. For $150, said Alderwoman Jean Gallagher, donors can purchase a tree and its memorial marker.