Franklin County BOC to Decide on Next Step for Water Line Expansion

Franklin County has agreed to link its water line to the City of Martin in order to provide water to people living in the Clark’s Creek area off SR17.

Under the terms of a proposed intergovernmental agreement, Franklin County will link its water line to one installed by Martin along Clarks Creek Road.

At their work session last week, former county manager Billy Morse explained Martin installed the line in order to provide water to Greater Hope Baptist Church.

While the two lines are now connected, Morse said an intergovernmental agreement is needed for legal purposes.   Under that agreement Franklin County and the town of Martin will purchase water from each other on an as needed basis.

The board is expected to formally sign that agreement at their October meeting next week.

Meantime, the board will hold a special work session in the coming weeks to decide on the next list of roads where new water lines will be run.

During discussions last week, Morse said all of the roads on the previous list now have water lines.   Commissioner Jeff Jacques listed seven roads he believes should go on the new priority list based on a certain criteria.

 “What I attempted to do was look at roads where we did not currently have water, but where we had water infrastructure on either end where we could provide connectivity and where we had requests from citizens,” Jacques told the board. “I also tried to identify poultry farms, businesses and entire consolidations of residences.”

Roads suggested by Jacques include Dovetown Road, HalesCrossingRoad, Rice Mill Road, Meadowbrook Road, Airport Road, Roper Road and McFarlin Bridge Road.   Commissioner Clint Harper also suggested adding Roach Road to the list.

Jacques said however, the board needs to set up a special work session to nail down the next water line priority list. 

“An expansion of our water system would be a win-win providing a very vital service,” he said. “It’s necessary for growth, quality of life. Our fire departments, in conjunction with our waterline expansion, have done a tremendous job lowering our ISO ratings, which have led to reduced insurance rates for many of our citizens.”

 So far, the board has not set a definitive date for the special work session.