Crossville voters will decide the future of the city’s water and sewer assets following a city council vote Tuesday to place a referendum on the November 3 ballot.
Mayor RJ Crawford said the referendum is a required step under the city charter before any transfer of utility system property can occur. Crawford said the measure specifically addresses acreage surrounding the Meadow Park Lake dam and water treatment plant.
“This referendum does not authorize a merger,” Crawford said. “It simply asks the voters whether the city council may transfer these identified properties if at a later date the council determines that such a transfer is in the city’s best interest.”
The council also voted to postpone the Meadow Park Lake dam expansion project for at least one year. Crawford said the city cannot afford to fund the dam project independently without placing a major financial burden on ratepayers.
“I’ve really struggled with this because I want to do the right thing for the people whether I make the best decision or not the best decision it’ll be a matter of opinion of everyone that’s listening,” Council Member Mike Turner said. “So I vote yes.”
The council approved the referendum language in a unanimous roll call vote. Crawford said the decision follows ongoing evaluations regarding a potential consolidation with the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority to improve long-term system reliability and ratepayer stability.
“Any way you cut this, do the dam, don’t do the dam, do all the projects whatever, the math is in the favor of a merger,” Crawford said. “And so that’s where I stand on it.”
The postponement of the dam project is intended to provide time for the referendum to take place and for further discussions with the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority. Crawford said moving forward with the dam now would require millions of dollars in expenditures over the next year that the city’s water and sewer fund cannot support.
“I don’t want to play with that kind of money especially your all’s money so that’s why I think we need to hold off for a year let this all kind of figure itself out,” Crawford said.
During public comment, several residents expressed concerns regarding the potential transfer of assets. One resident said the city is the last major independent water provider on the plateau and noted that customers living outside city limits would not be eligible to vote in the referendum despite being impacted by the decision.
“I realize that when you move the services further away from the people they serve you have less service, and so I was focusing it would be better to keep the water plant in city control,” one resident said.
The approved ballot question will ask voters if the city should be authorized to transfer the properties if the council later determines it is in the best interest of the city and its ratepayers. Crawford said any actual transfer would still require separate ordinances and additional public consideration even if the referendum passes.