City Purchasing More Christmas Light Displays, Sewer Expanded To Woodford Subdivision
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
The November meeting of the City of Trenton Board of Commissioners was moved from Nov. 11 to Nov. 12 due to Veterans Day. Toward the end of the meeting, Alex Case (mayor) mentioned that the city put in sewer near the new Woodford at Glenview subdivision, so the Sentinel followed up about this.
The commission approved a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) expenditure of $10,000 for more Christmas light decorations. Monda Wooten (street commissioner) made this request, saying that the commission had agreed last year to continue using SPLOST each year for more decorations. She said they last for many years, just needing bulbs to be replaced now and then.
Mentioning the 2025 budget, Case noted he had not heard from the commission (aside from Wooten) about the library’s request for additional funding, so he asked the commissioners to let him know their thoughts.
Mike Norris (police commissioner) read the police report. In October, the Trenton Police Department answered 200 calls for service. The department conducted 1,643 business checks, responded to nine animal complaints, seven domestic disturbance calls, four trespassing calls, and 20 suspicious activity calls, and worked 23 traffic crashes. From 151 traffic stops, 56 citations were issued.
Terry Powell (parks and animal control commissioner) reported that there was one dog bite in the county in October and currently one bite dog is in the city shelter.
He noted that five security cameras in Jenkins Park are now active.
Lucretia Houts (fire and utility commissioner) reported that the Trenton Fire Department answered 89 calls in October, five of which were fire related and 43 of which were canceled en route.
In his report, Case encouraged citizens to call City Hall about any problems they see while out and about. “We ask for your eyes to help us because it’s not every day that our three guys are on every road. If you see something, please let us know.”
Case said that a lot of work has been happening in the Sunset Drive/Glenview Drive area on sewer, ditches, and roads, in part because of the Woodford subdivision development. Explaining why the city put in sewer for the subdivision, he said, “There are certain things that’s required by us to put in, and they are paying for every tap that they do, but some of the main trunks had to be put in by us.”
Later in the week, Case and Dewayne Moore (utilities director) explained that the city’s main lines were too far away from the new houses for service lines to be connected. Case said, “We have different options we can do for anybody who requests sewer when a main isn’t in the area. We lay out what’s on them and what’s on us. When you live within the city limits and our sewer’s not close enough for you to make the tap, we’ve gotta do our part to get it there. Then, it’s your responsibility to get your service line in.”
Developers (or anyone needing sewer access within the city limits) must meet with the city, explain how many homes will be tied in, go through preliminary reviews, and work with engineers.
Case noted that the developers (Faircloth Investors/Faircloth Realty) are putting in a street through the subdivision that fits the city’s specifications. Case added, “We may cover the cost of the asphalt or something, but that’s building housing, that’s building infrastructure. We’re asked to invest and help with this. In return, the city’s getting taxes, LOST, SPLOST, and sewer fees.”
This new infrastructure is covered by SPLOST funds, and Case noted that even a $150,000 expense pays for itself quickly through taxes.
By working with developers on such projects, the city ensures that infrastructure is built in accordance with the city engineering specifications. Moore noted that many years ago, when developers were left to their own devices, they often put sewer systems in incorrectly. “It was a nightmare that we had to deal with later.”
Requests for sewer are taken on a case-by-case basis because elevation, rocky ground, the number of homes, and other factors impact the viability and expense of the project.
Case cited other developers the city is working with, such as a developer in the Piney area. “We’ve been working with him for over a year and a half.”
Citing the workforce housing grant that the Industrial Development Authority considered pursuing (see the Jan. 17 Sentinel), Case explained that the city could not agree to that project due to the lack of information at the time and the major scope of the project (which would add a significant burden to the sewer system). The area in question is solid rock, which would increase the expense.
The city also takes sewer requests from industries very seriously. Noting the chicken processing plant that was once up for discussion, Case said, “You take our whole city in one day, and that one plant was going to give us ten times the amount of sewer.”
Moore added, “It’s not a question of how many gallons we can take on; it’s how dirty it is—gallons plus loading. Our plant is designed as a municipal plant; it’s not designed as an industrial plant.”
The city ordinances require that sewer over 300 parts per million must be pre-treated on site before entering the city’s system. “All industries know that now,” said Case, “and we do random checks on our high-usage folks.”
Case concluded, “We’re still charging [Faircloth Investors] an impact fee to tie into this. The city doesn’t ever pay for that. We gotta look at the long-term, and I look at 22 homes paying the millage rate.”
Returning back to the meeting, Case also briefly addressed the concerns Anthony Goins has brought up about the city’s sewer infrastructure. See the accompanying article in this Sentinel for the full story.
Lastly, Case said the city has heard complaints that KWN News Now is no longer livestreaming city meetings, so the city is looking into livestreaming through Facebook, but this would require microphones and someone to run the livestream.
During the Dade County Public Library report, Lydia Soucy (library manager) reported that 1,060 guests entered the library during Trick or Treat on the Square.
She noted that Food for Fines is happening through Nov. 27. Each donated can takes $1.00 off a patron’s library fines, with a maximum of $10 per account. Donations must not be expired or damaged. The cans will go toward Helping Hand Ending Hunger through Dade County Schools.
Wooten added that the Dade County Pet Project and Luck’s Rescue have acquired funding to spay/neuter about 30 pit bulls for free this month. Call Wooten at 423-596-9977 if you need financial assistance to have your pit bull spayed or neutered.
