Franklin County BOC Not Ready to Approve Carnesville Water System Purchase

Franklin County Commission Chair Jeff Jacques says the County is doing its due diligence over a plan initiated by the City of Carnesville to buy its water and sewer system.

The County has been in talks with the City of Carnesville about purchasing its water and sewer system after being approached by Mayor Harris Little.

WLHR News has learned the purchase was discussed sometime last year in an executive session under real estate but it was never on a Board of Commissioners meeting agenda nor discussed or voted on in a public meeting.

That led to a number of Carnesville citizens questioning the legality of the proposed purchase and they spoke out at the Board of Commissioners meeting earlier this month.

One of them, Amy Hanley pointed out that the water and sewer system is in need of expensive repairs and she asked who made the decision at the County level to buy Carnesville’s water and sewer system in the first place.

“The price tag was $900,000. How was that arrived and who suggested that price tag?,” she asked. “I’d like to know about the integrity of the system. As someone who has sat in Carnesville City Council meetings the last couple of years, I’ve heard time and time and time and time again residents complaining. They don’t have water pressure or pipes blown out. There’s been an issue there even as continues to grow.”

Hanley also criticized the City of Carnesville’s lack of transparency, noting no agendas or public announcements of meetings relating to the deal were ever published until sale was announced at a City Council meeting.

Under the terms of the proposed deal between the County and Carnesville, the County would purchase the water and sewer works for $900,000 but forgive the $200,000 the town owes to the County.

After hearing from concerned citizens at the Commission meeting, Jacques said he and the Board of Commissioners will thoroughly look into Carnesville’s request before signing off on it.

“We had five comments tonight in regard to the City of Carnesville water system. In the end, this is such a high-profile situation I feel compelled to comment. This is a carryover from the previous Board. This Board is doing substantial and significant vetting of this acquisition,” Jacques said. “We’ve had conversations with our County Manager and us collectively. Before a decision is finalized it will be done publicly.”

Jacques told WLHR News Tuesday that the valuation of the water/sewer system, done by an engineer, is just over $500,000 and he wants to know how the County came up with the $900,000 figure.

If the City of Carnesville answers those questions to the satisfaction of Jacques and the Board of Commissioners any decision and vote by the Board will be done in an open meeting, Jacques said.

As of Tuesday, however, Jacques said County Manager Derek Turner had not yet received a response from Carnesville and no future discussion or decision is planned.