Surgoinsville aldermen establish charge for hazmat calls

SURGOINSVILLE — The Surgoinsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen met Monday night with low attendance. Mayor Merrell Graham, Vice Mayor Bobby Jarnagin and Alderman John Sandidge were absent. The remaining aldermen approved two ordinances on their first readings. Respectively, they established a minimum livable floor area requirement for a residence and a "reasonable" charge for copies of public records. Alderman Kaley Mierek voted against the latter ordinance. The board approved one ordinance on its second and final reading, and tabled another. The first established charges for emergency service calls involving hazardous materials, adopting the Federal Emergency Management Agency's rates. Surgoinsville Fire Department Chief Shane Suthers said this gives his department a way to recoup the cost of dealing with hazardous materials. The tabled ordinance, approved on its first reading in December, would limit the companies that can install sewers to the town's system. Police Chief James Hammonds chose three companies he felt were qualified. At the board's December work session, he said residents have contracted various companies who may not know how to work on Surgoinsville's unique sewer system, and the town must fix their mistakes. Under the amended policy, residents would choose from the approved contractors. That system runs sewage through a septic tank serving each home or business and then pumps it into sewer lines that take the sewage to the wastewater treatment plant in neighboring Church Hill. In an out-of-order resolution, the board entered an interlocal agreement with the town of Rogersville to use its maintenance equipment if needed. Alderman Randy Collier said Rogersville's board will pass a similar agreement.