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Thompson's Station work session advances wastewater capacity updates and West Harpeth drip-field design
Summary
Board members reviewed a first reading to revise the town's wastewater reservation process and considered a professional-services agreement with Barge Design Solutions to design a new drip field at the Ozad property, focusing debate on fee-in-lieu rules, land acquisition, active vs. inactive capacity and public-health contingencies.
Thompson's Station officials on Feb. (date not specified) discussed proposed changes to how the town reserves and allocates wastewater treatment capacity and reviewed a contract to design a new drip-field disposal site at 1546 West Harpeth Road.
Micah, a town staffer, described the professional-services request: "Staff recommends approval of ordinance 26-02 to update the wastewater reservation process," and said the Barge Design Solutions work includes three components: drip-field design and bid documents, upgrades to the Tollgate lift station, and updates to the town's hydraulic model for the wastewater system.
Why it matters: the town is completing a three-phase expansion of its wastewater plant and needs a clear, administrable way to allocate limited treatment and disposal capacity to new developments. The proposed ordinance would formalize a fee-in-lieu calculation for drip-field disposal, divide capacity into "active" and "inactive" buckets, require full payment for active reservations and a 10% nonrefundable deposit for inactive reservations, and delegate routine approvals to staff unless an application deviates from standard agreements.
Board members pressed staff on several operational and policy points they said must be clarified before final approval. Vice Mayor Singh urged objective, milestone-based definitions of "progress" that trigger reservation status, saying expirations should be automatic unless the board affirmatively votes to extend a reservation. Members asked that extensions remain a board-level decision and requested clearer language on how and when the town can reclaim or reallocate capacity for public-health or safety reasons if system failures or catastrophic events occur.
Several members also debated the town's role in acquiring land for drip fields versus relying on developers to dedicate suitable parcels. Staff said the fee-in-lieu amount is tied to an annual appraisal (currently using values from the West Harpeth acquisition) and that the town has condemnation authority as a backstop if land cannot be otherwise obtained. Staff noted the reservation agreement and the municipal code will be coordinated so that operational details (milestones, reversion rules, recoupment) appear in the executed agreement while code changes set policy.
The Barge Design Solutions work was described as necessary to prepare bid documents and to update the hydraulic model so staff can identify when pipelines or pump stations will reach capacity and what upgrades will be required. Staff explained routine flush water operations at existing drip fields sometimes return water to the system for treatment and that the new design will account for those hydraulics.
What's next: staff will draft redline language that incorporates board comments, circulate the reservation agreement and the proposed municipal-code changes to aldermen for review, and aim to present a revised first-reading packet (with redlines) before the next meeting. The item remains at first reading; no final vote was recorded in the session.
