Franklin County commissioners authorize $3.74M ARP water grant application, approve budget amendments and multi‑year leases

Franklin County commissioners on Oct. 17 approved a slate of budget amendments, multi‑year equipment leases and a resolution authorizing the county mayor to apply for Tennessee ARP water infrastructure funding totaling $3,737,963.38.

The meeting, held at the Franklin County Courthouse in Winchester, included votes to combine and pass dozens of routine and substantive financial measures. Commissioners approved amendments affecting the county general fund, highway fund, solid waste fund and multiple Board of Education budgets; several education line-item changes and grant acceptances were passed by roll call (16 ayes).

The most consequential vote authorized the mayor to submit a non‑competitive State Water Infrastructure Grant (SWIG) application under Tennessee’s ARP allocation. The application, described in the resolution as the county’s submission to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, would distribute funds among three utilities serving Franklin County: Belvidere Rural Utility District, the Center Grove–Winchester Springs Utility District, and Sewanee Utility District. According to grant materials presented to commissioners, the total project costs and proposed funding plan are: Belvidere (total $1,045,524.24; local match 15% = $156,828.64), Center Grove–Winchester Springs (total $1,459,810.00; local match 15% = $218,971.50), and Sewanee (total $1,670,000.00; local match 15% = $250,500.00). The TDEC ARP grant would cover 70% of project costs; each utility and the county would each provide their 15% local match.

The projects listed in the application span asset‑management planning, equipment modernization, water‑loss reduction work, sewer rehabilitation and other priorities identified in the utilities’ Tennessee Water Infrastructure Scorecards. The resolution empowers the county mayor to execute grant paperwork if the application is approved.

Commissioners also approved several multi‑year operational leases for county offices. The Board combined three similar resolutions and approved a postage‑meter lease for the Register of Deeds (Pitney Bowes), a Konica Minolta lease for printing equipment at the Judicial Commission and a Konica Minolta/Mobotix lease for cameras and monitoring for the consolidated communications department. The Konica Minolta proposal for the judicial center listed a 63‑month fair‑market‑value lease at $26.80 per month for a Bizhub unit; a separate camera lease listed a 39‑month fair‑market lease at about $168.50 per month that includes cloud storage and monitoring services, according to documents submitted with the resolutions.

The Finance Committee had earlier recommended approval or 'receive and file' for the county’s quarterly finance reports, grant pre‑applications and an assortment of budget cleanups. The county also approved grant submissions and budget adjustments for airport maintenance and airport coronavirus response reimbursements tied to the Sewanee airport; those actions authorized the mayor to sign TDOT grant documents should the funds be awarded.

All measures reported as votes in the meeting minutes passed with either unanimous voice approval or by roll call where recorded.