The Town of Vonore public works crew has been out trying to find and repair leaks in the sewer system. Alderman Mike Garren reported at Tuesday's meeting the amount of water in the sewer system more than doubled after the rains earlier this month.

One problem is low-lying manholes that allow rain run off to enter the sewer system, and then the town must pay to have all the extra water in the system treated. The town workers have been building up the edges of the manholes, so water cannot run into the system.

Workers also will begin repairs on the pump station at Town Hall this week.
In November, the town received a $270,000 grant for work on the sewer system, however, it may be fall before that work begins, and some of the repairs need to be made now.
The board voted Tuesday to enter an agreement with J.R. Wauford & Co. for engineering services for the sewer line work that will be paid for by the grant.

Garren also reported there is nearly $10,000 in past due sewer bills. The town is considering an ordinance that will give them more options for collecting the past due bills.
"It will give us a little bit more teeth to collect some of that," Garren said.

Parks and Recreation
Alderman Dave Evans reported the Parks and Recreation Committee met and begin talking about initial work on the town park. Evans said the first phase will include softball and baseball fields. They also will begin marking off the walking trail along the lake. He would like to see the town sell some of the timber on the site to help pay for work on the park.

"We're excited about this and hopefully we are off to a good start," he said.
Evans said the committee will meet again in February and at that time may set the first work day at the park.

In other business, the board:
Agreed to lease a new copier from Image Matters. The copier the town currently uses is 14 years old. The cost will be about $150 per month. The copier company also will include a second copier at no cost other than a $10 per month maintenance fee.

Appointed the following people to the Heritage Museum board: Mary Link, Tony White, Barbara Raper, Tom and Leslie Steele, Jerry Boone and Shirley Brown. The museum board meets at 1 p.m. the first Saturday of each month.

Approved sending Allen Cansler to school to be certified as a sewer pump inspector.
Approved a new drug testing policy. The policy is in accordance with the Tennessee Drug Free Workplace policy that the state encourages local governments to adopt.
Approved Police Chief Mike Myers' request to open an account on govdeals.com to sell cars officers seize during drug arrests.

Mayor Larry Summey announced new hours for Town Hall and the public works department: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.
He also thanked Angela Shaffer and Dave Evans for their work on the Christmas parade.
The next town meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2 in the courtroom at Town Hall.

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