Dandridge Work Session Brings Possibility of Residential Water Leak Adjustment Program

The Dandridge Board of Mayor and Aldermen will have several items on their plate when they convene next week for their voting meeting. Of particular interest to residents of Dandridge will be the possibility of the Town offering of a residential service line and leak adjustment program, the cost of which would be added to current residential water bills. Though the caveats of the programs are still to be worked out, a minimal monthly buy in for consumers would provided protection against large water bills, due to leaks, that qualify for coverage. For those customers that are not interested in participating in the program, there will be the opportunity to opt out and forego the coverage. Mike Norton, Supervisor of the Dandridge Water Department, stated that the decision to bring the opportunity for leak adjustment protection before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen was in response to the occasional surprise bill, much larger than the average monthly bill due to a leak, which can seriously impact some customers. The Board was presented with the outline of a plan at Tuesday’s Work Session but no decisions will be made until the regular voting meeting.

Dandridge Mayor Gantte addressed the issue of the 2016 Farmer’s Market. In the past, the market has been hosted by DCT. However, due to financial considerations, the fate of the Farmer’s Market was up in the air. Farmers that participate in the local market expressed interest in continuing for the 2016 season and Tuesday Mayor Gantte brought a suggestion for a five member Board that will oversee the 2016 season. According to the Mayor, Fred Tyler, Jim Holbert and Pete Martin have agreed to represent the farmers on a five member Board. The remaining two positions would be held by the Town’s Public Works Supervisor and the Finance Director, who would represent the Town of Dandridge on the Board. The issue will be brought before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen at the regular voting meeting.

Other items that will be addressed next week include turnout gear for the Fire Department, a Special Event request for Maury Middle School PTO Color Me Spring Festival and 5k run for April 2, 2016, and the scheduling of the BMA retreat. There is a hard deadline for Special Event requests of January 31, 2016 and those requests will go before the BMA in February.