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Sumner County signs amended MOU to accept $1.8 million additional TDEC funds for Portland/Westmoreland water projects
Summary
The committee approved sending amended memoranda of understanding to the full commission to accept $1.8 million in additional Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) funds, expanding an existing ARPA/TDEC project for water lines and an elevated tank covering Portland and Westmoreland projects.
Sumner County staff told the General Operations Committee that TDEC has agreed to amend a previously approved project to add about $1.8 million in federal funding for several water infrastructure projects in Portland and Westmoreland.
The county had earlier committed roughly $1 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as a local match. Staff asked the committee to forward amended memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to the full county commission with minor language tweaks to address consultant recommendations; the MOUs add scope and funding to four Westmoreland water-line projects and a Portland elevated-tank and transmission-line component.
Staff said the county’s role is to host the grant and execute MOUs with the cities; if the cities do not comply with grant terms, callback language in the MOUs permits recapture of funds and would trigger the cities to repay amounts the county advanced.
“...the only one we could find that TDEC was comfortable with was the SWIC here,” a staff member said, describing how projects were matched to available state funding. Staff and commissioners discussed a prior advertising omission by a Westmoreland consultant; TDEC granted a waiver for the ARPA procurement requirement and staff said the county does not expect a county-level clawback based on current information.
The committee approved forwarding the amended MOUs and related grant paperwork to the county commission and waived the second reading where appropriate. Committee members requested staff continue to monitor compliance by the partner municipalities and to finalize minor language changes recommended by legal and consultant review.
The approval does not increase direct county-funded obligations beyond the earlier ARPA match already committed; staff said the bulk of the additional funds will flow from TDEC to the city projects, with the county acting as grant recipient and MOU partner.
