Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The Lewis County Board of Commissioners met in regular session Monday, August 21st. The board voted to authorize Lewis County Mayor Jonah Keltner to enter into the five-year ambulance service contract with Maury Regional who provided the lowest and best bid. The contract term will run from August 1, 2023 until July 31, 2028. Maury Regional Emergency Medical Services will provide EMS services to Lewis County via two Advanced Life Support ambulances consisting of at least one paramedic and one qualified emergency medical technician.

The Board also voted to authorize Mayor Keltner to apply for the BlueCross Healthy Places Grant, seeking a Splash Pad and Playground Equipment for Memorial Park. This is a grant that has been applied for in the past. “As long as the grant is accepting submissions,” said Mayor Keltner, “the County will continue applying until we get it.” The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation looks to provide communities with places that help them get to know one another, form new connections and enjoy healthy activity. All BlueCross Healthy Places include perimeter and internal area sidewalks; concrete landscape bordering; fitness instructional signage; and an entrance package featuring a BlueCross-branded rock pillar entry sign, bicycle rack, and ADA access sidewalk extending from the amenity area to an existing accessible route ADA compliant sidewalk or accessible parking area. The County may know as early as December if the grant was awarded to Lewis County.

For the Splash Pad (if granted), the County will be responsible for electrical requirements, furnishing water and sewer service to connection points, and if required, water meter, meter box, and any required permitting or other necessities. Additional annual costs of maintaining a splash pad element are not included in the grant. This can include water fees for upwards of 25,000 gallons of water per day.

Also approved was the establishment of a 30 miles per hour speed limit on Kimberly Road. The county received numerous complaints about drivers speeding up and down Kimberly Road, which is a short, dead-end road, in a congested neighborhood, and has children present, yet currently has a speed limit of 55 miles per hour. The issue was brought before Highway Commissioner Kerry Cagle, and the Lewis County Highway Board. Both recommended the County Commission approve the 30 miles per hour limit. In agreement was the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department.

The Parks and Recreation Board received 20 applications for Security Officer at Memorial Park. The County has recently received an influx of complaints about homeless people and loitering inside Memorial Park. Complaints included drug use, scaring people walking the track, harassing people for money, sleeping in the bleachers, and leaving trash lying around their resting area. Leaders from the City Council, Park Board, and County Commission met to address the issue, and it was agreed that having a Security Officer present in the evenings and at night for approximately five hours a day, seven days a week, would help deter such homeless activity, as well as reduce other types of common vandalism and misbehavior. The funding needed to hire two or three individuals to perform this security work through June 30, 2024 is approximately $20,000.

The County Commission “Committee of the Whole” voted unanimously to allocate a one-time contribution of $10,000 from the National Opioid Settlement General Fund to the Park Budget toward this position, while the Lewis County Faith Based Recovery Coalition committed a one-time donation of $5,000, as well as Summertown Metals, who also committed to making a one-time donation of $5,000 for this position.

You may have noticed the basketball courts getting a face-lift over the weekend. The deep cleaned and freshly painted area is thanks to Stephen Tanner of Tanner Coatings and Professional Services, as he donated $3,000 in December 2022 for the project to be completed this summer.

Other improvements at the park include upgrades to the Ag Pavilion. The UT Agriculture Extension Office in Lewis County has $23,099 in grant money left over from the state to make improvements to the Agriculture Pavilion. After ads were placed in the newspaper seeking bids to pour a concrete pad underneath, a bid of $25,300 was accepted from B&R Contracting. The Commission approved using $2,000 in Federal LATCF grant money to cover the remaining balance.

The next committee meeting will be held September 11th at 5:30 p.m. Owners of the land purchased in the Industrial Park off Summertown Highway were sent certified letters requesting their attendance to give an update of their progress during this committee meeting.

The next scheduled board of commissioners meeting will be September 25, at 6:00 p.m.