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Resident urges recall of Wilson Water Authority chair, cites sewer failures affecting county school
Summary
A Wilson County resident told the Education Committee that unresolved sewer problems tied to the Wilson Water Authority harmed a recently opened school and urged the committee to pursue accountability, including a recall of the authority chair.
Ken Young of Watertown urged the Wilson County Education Committee to use formal processes, including a recall, to get answers about a sewer failure tied to a recently opened county school. Young addressed the committee during public comment, saying the incident has produced “bad press for the whole county” and accused the Wilson Water Authority of avoiding public scrutiny.
The matter was raised during the committee’s public comment period. Young said the water authority has not attended recent school board meetings to answer questions and called its actions “the most visible piece of malfeasance” by the authority. He asked committee members to consider a motion to recall the chairman of the Wilson Water Authority as a way to obtain information and accountability.
The committee’s director of schools responded during the meeting that the immediate operational problem at the school is being managed with a pump-and-haul system and that the district has scheduled meetings with Wilson Water Authority to negotiate a contract. The director said contractor and regulatory parties, including the authority’s subcontractor and TDEC, are working on-site and that a resolution pathway exists.
Director remarks to the committee included operational details: a 35,000-gallon holding tank was in use as of Friday and staff monitor it daily; the director said the system is “very safe” and there have been no reports of sewage entering school buildings. The director said the district is not paying for the corrective work but is paying for the interim pump-and-haul, and that negotiations with the authority and the mayor’s office are expected to address liability and longer-term solutions.
Young named specific concerns he said the public needs answered, including why a $400,000 no-bid contract was issued and where funds were spent. The director said ongoing meetings with Wilson Water Authority and its contractors should clarify those points, and that the district’s immediate priority is restoring safe, normal operations at the school.
The committee did not take formal action on the recall request during the meeting. Young said he planned follow-up with the budget committee and signaled the matter could be brought forward again in another forum.
