B

The Hamblen County Commission Finance Committee voted to approve a memorandum enforcing the allotment of funds collected from an increased wheel tax to go to paving.

The memorandum between the Hamblen County Legislative Body, road commission and the highway department will address the need for road repairs in the area.

“The purpose of this document is for each of the bodies to publicly state and agree that if there is an increase of the wheel tax the money generated from the wheel tax, will be used for resurfacing and repair of roads,” Hamblen County Mayor Bill Brittain said. “This is a document to show the public that the highway superintendent, road commission and county commission are on the same page and all understand the seriousness of the issue and the need for road repairs and that the wheel tax revenue will be used for that service.”

The memorandum passed unanimously and will face an entire commission vote at its next meeting.

Commissioner Edna Green questioned if the memorandum was a legally binding document.

“I understand the purpose of this is for everyone to know the intention of the body,” said Chris Capps, the county’s attorney. “If there is a wheel tax increase that is used and everyone agrees how it is used and no one is over her saying ‘oh yeah we will use it whenever we want to, however we want to’ but everyone understands what it is used for.”

“I don’t see it as a contract or be forced in a court of law. It is a memorandum indicating the intentions of these bodies to do what they say they are going to do,” Capps said.

Commissioner Peggy Howell clarified that the commission isn’t passing a wheel tax increase, but if it was passed the funds from the increase would go to fixing roads.

“I want to go back to the word ‘If’ “if it was passed,’” Howell said. “This isn’t a passing but this is if this were to occur that’s what we’re dealing with right now.”

The commission originally had a wheel tax resolution on the agenda for the finance committee but it was removed before the meeting began.

Commission Chairman Chris Cutshaw explained the need for the memorandum in outlying how the funds would be dispersed if the increase comes to the county.

“I think it’s an opportunity to show everyone it’s a good faith effort by three different bodies that this is what our intentions are,” he said. “This is the intention of this body is to move forward with the road commission and the road superintendent that any wheel tax increase will go for this purpose.”

The Justice Center/Public Safety Committee voted on the 13th change order for the justice center project.

The change order is total $48,060 and is for revisions to the feeders for the Chiller based on a submittal from Contractor, the basis of design fans HP for HVAC units has increased since design of the project, the capping the top of CMU enclosures in the recreational yards and final reconciliation for added materials for micro piles not covered under the previous change order.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the change order.

Hamblen County Sheriff Chad Mullins presented the commission with a breakdown of how local first responders handled the Independence Day holiday.

“I got together with all the departments that were involved in the Fourth of July celebration at Cherokee Park,” he said. “The sheriff’s office provided 11 officers to the park and they did parking and got people into the park.”

“The Morristown Police Department provided 14 officers just to get people out of the park. The Emergency Management Agency had seven volunteers, Morristown Rescue Squad had 31 volunteers, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency had a total of 8 employees on the water on 4 boats and Tennessee Highway Patrol assigned 3 troopers to help with traffic on 25E.”

With 12,000 in attendance Mullins explained what services the agencies provided the day of the celebration.

“We had two incidents where children who got lost from their parents and we got together and ended up finding them,” Mullins said. “There was a wreck with no injuries out there and we assisted with an individual who broke their ankle and we had to get EMS out there to help.”

“TWRA was operating Dry Water and they checked 82 boats over the two day period, had 4 four boater assists when boats broke down, gave 58 verbal warnings, 1 written warning, issued 4 citations and arrested 2 for BUI.”

Mullins said from July 1 to July 4 the HCSO answered 137 calls. The MPD had 568 incidents and the Morristown EMS had 139. The volunteer fire department were dispatched 10 times over the four departments and the Morristown Fire Department handled 11 incidents.

He explained that many of these calls included several agencies responding to the incident.

“With priority calls (wreck with injury) dispatch would send two officers, an ambulance, rescue squad and a VFD so you have several agencies go to one call.”

Mullins also said that during July 1 and July 4 E911 received 1,892 calls and 96% were answered in less than 15 seconds.