Jim Hawkins and Tim and Debbie Doster, who live on Mary Grace Lane and Highway 436, were among several in attendance at the September 20 meeting of the McKenzie City Council. The Dosters' well was found to be contaminated with two volatile organic compounds.

Testing is being extended on private water wells south of McKenzie a half mile beyond those already shown to be contaminated with the volatile organic compound trichloroethene (TCE) in a TDEC-mandated project that Mayor Walter Winchester said could cost the city $100,000 in unanticipated funds.

In other action during the Thursday, September 22, regular session of the McKenzie Board of Mayor and Council, members voted against consolidating the McKenzie, Huntingdon, and Carroll County emergency services dispatching units. (See separate story below.)

It was Winchester's first official report concerning the results of wells tested in a half-mile radius of the closed landfill off Connie Allen Road by an August 2 order of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Approximately a half dozen concerned residents attended the meeting.

Tests conducted August 31 found evidence of contamination in two wells. Those results were confirmed by second tests accomplished September 9. The September 12 results were communicated to residents Ronnie and Janet Doster and Tim and Debbie Doster by a letter and visit the following day, in which they were advised of the results. Bottled drinking water was provided the families until water lines could be extended to provide city water. A residence located on WKTA Lane at the northwest perimeter of testing showed a level half of the maximum standard, said Winchester.

A six-inch water line with fire hydrant will be extended from Connie Allen Road to affected properties at no cost. Winchester said nearby residents in the initial testing area are also being advised to connect to city water although, he noted, neither they nor effected residents could be forced to discontinue use of their wells.

Winchester said the new line will reduce the cost of homeowner's insurance to those connecting to it because of the proximity of the new fire hydrant.

Debbie and Tim Doster, who were among several residents of the water-testing region present for the meeting, inquired as to why their wells had never been tested previously despite being near the landfill. The two have lived at the Highway 436 address for 11 years.

Winchester and Arthur said the city was only now directed to perform the testing because of similar difficulties in East Tennessee. Dickson has been embroiled in controversy surrounding TCE that was first detected in well water in 1991.

"I'm just concerned about my health; I'm concerned about my husband's health; I've got family out there," said Mrs. Doster.

The Doster families reside at adjacent addresses on Highway 436 south of McKenzie and southwest of the landfill that was closed showed concentrations of TCE. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the landfill was open from 1972 to 1994 and contains 282,284 tons of waste.

TCE is a colorless or blue organic liquid with a chloroform-like odor. The greatest use of TCE is to remove grease from fabricated metal parts and some textiles. Some people who drink water containing TCE in excess of the maximum contaminate level over many years could experience problems with their liver and may have an increased risk of getting cancer, according to the EPA.

EPA maximum standards for TCE is .005 (five parts per billion.) Test results show levels at the Doster residences reach up to 1.3 times the standard for TCE.

Winchester said the TDEC originally ordered wells be tested in a mile radius from the site but that the city was able to negotiate a half-mile radius pending results. He said he was surprised contamination was found because test wells at the landfill had showed reducing amounts of contamination in twice yearly testing over a three-year period.

"It's gotten into the aquifer, evidently," he said.

He said further testing would encompass wells located farther down Highway 436 as Hansen Meadows. One residence on Rich Road was included in previous testing even though it was outside the testing perimeter.

Some areas outside the city limits in the extended radius--though not in the extended testing project--are portions of Connie Allen Road, Rich Road, Woods Lane, portions of Dr. Smith Lane, portions of Old McKenzie Road, portions of Everett Road, Tower Road, Thorndale Drive, Chesapeake Drive, Casey Lane, Deerwood Circle, Bolton Lane, and portions of Nantucket Cove.

Water Department Superintendent Tim Waldrup said water lines were extended to residents of Connie Allen Road in the mid- to late-80s following the discovery of contamination in well water.

ENGINEERING FEES QUESTIONED RELATIVE TO WATER TESTING

Council member Jill Holland termed "ridiculous" the exorbitant fees charged by engineering firm Barge, Wagner, Sumner, and Cannon relative to testing the rural wells. Actual testing fees are $85 and 37 wells were tested in the initial round, which would infer project costs of $3,145, however, Winchester had noted, actual costs after professional fees are added will be $20- to $30,000.

The mayor said the city could perform the testing itself but that the results would then be suspect. Other members of the council were quick to advise Holland regarding the necessity of involving the engineering company that Adkins said, "has been with us since the beginning" of the landfill. Winchester said BWSC contracts with a third party to take the samples.

Holland further questioned whether the costs would be passed on to city water customers' water bills "in addition to the 25 cents per month." The 25-cent reference alluded to Winchester's as-yet unmentioned proposal to add 25 cents to the sanitation fee to cover some of the engineering costs of the project.

Winchester said in a written notice concerning the plan, "I had hoped we would not have to add an extra fee to the sanitation fee this year."

Winchester said the city is seeking grants and also looking into obtaining a loan at a very small rate or use reserve funds to fund the project.

Holland, who since being elected in November last year has advocated a repeal of council member's compensation—including $150 per month salary and insurance benefits, with a combined value of in excess of $30,000 per year—said the cost should not be passed to citizens.

"The city caused this problem—not this council, but in the past—and I really think we should look internally instead of passing the cost on to citizens."

Adkins abruptly noted, "This whole community is responsible for that landfill; this whole community dumped in that landfill."

Holland last year chose to forego a salary, believing council members should volunteer their time on the board, and asked the council to approved Christmas bonuses for city employees with monies that would have funded her salary and insurance.

In other business the council:

* Approved bills in the amount of $115,700.00 including: BWSC–$7,600.00 for landfill water quality assessment professional fees through August 26; Local Government Data Processing Corporation–$6,000.00 for network hardware support service from September 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006; and Tennessee Municipal League–$101,363.00 for insurance premiums from September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2006;

* Approved a $1,000 donation to the YMCA, which was pre-approved in the 2005-06 budget;

* Heard Winchester refer to committee the following bids for a Park Department mower: McKenzie Feed and Grain Co.–$7,006.27 for a 27 HP Exmark; Jeff's Lawn Mower Service–$5,515.95 for a 27 HP John Deere; and Murphy Tractor Co. of Jackson–$6,000 for a 27 HP Yazoo and $6,700 for a Toro. Committee members include Holland as parks liaison with Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ricky French and Street Department Superintendent Joe Curtis;

* Postponed the opening of bids on a skid for the Fire Department until October 13; and

* Heard Adkins report 191 fire and rescue calls to date. She said Chief Brian Tucker was recently recertified as a fire inspector for three years following training conducted at the University of Tennessee. Of 183 calls through August 31, 127 (69%) took place inside city limits; 38 (21%) were within McKenzie's rural fire district; and 18 (10%) were mutual aid calls to assist other fire departments.

MCKENZIE - McKenzie City Council members were united in disapproval of a measure to consolidate emergency services dispatching into one unit, citing concerns with response times; loss of after-hours access to City Hall; cost to residents, especially after the first year; and the loss of back-up capacity that currently exists if one unit was disabled.

Mayor Walter Winchester and Police Chief Harry Cooper, in previous weeks, represented the city in two public informational meetings convened by county Mayor Kenny McBride to discuss the proposal with emergency and public officials in the county.

In announcing the issue to the council during its Thursday, September 22, regular session, Winchester noted consolidation would move the operations to a central location funded by the municipalities, Carroll County, and E-911. Presently, he said, the city expends $130,000 per year in dispatcher salaries, benefits and equipment. He said the county projected costs to McKenzie in the first year of a consolidated system to be $80,000 but that some of the cost of funding the project would be passed to citizens as the 911 charge on landline residential telephone bills would be increased from 65 cents to $1.50, an extra $10.20 per year. The charge to businesses would increase from $2.00 to $3.00 per line monthly.

Fire Department liaison Darra Adkins said members of the Fire Department were against consolidation, noting a consolidated system could threaten McKenzie's Class 3 ISO rating.

"Last year McKenzie was among the top 20 in the nation in response time," she said, "and that is extremely important... That Class 3 rating is very important to homeowners' insurance."

Vice-mayor Gene Hale said City Hall would be locked after 5 p.m. if the measure succeeded.

"It's too vague a situation right now; I don't think it's been explained to anyone the way it should be," he said.

Council member Wade Allen said it was risky to put all the county's "eggs in one basket." Currently, he continued, if something happens to one unit there are two others to back it up; but if the central system were shut down, it would shut down the whole county.