CHATTANOOGA — The Chattanooga City Council will vote next Tuesday on the first reading of a $3.5 million budget amendment to construct a water line for residents off Highway 41 in Lookout Valley. Councilman Chip Henderson requested the appropriation, which would be added to $1.2 million already included in the capital budget for the project.

A group of Raccoon Mountain residents presented their water supply problems at a City Council public hearing Tuesday afternoon. Several residents said they regularly travel off Raccoon Mountain to load pickups with hundreds of gallons of water, and a 74-year-old resident said he obtains his supply at the John A. Patten Community Center. A family with five boys and a sixth child on the way said the lack of water affects multiple areas of their lives. Some residents said they had drilled wells as deep as 1,000 feet without finding water, and some existing wells on the mountain have collapsed.

Helen Burns Sharp, of Accountability for Taxpayer Money, recommended establishing an assessment district so that property owners who benefit would pay rather than city taxpayers. "If there is a 'bad guy' in this saga, it is the Tennessee Legislature, which, about 50 years ago, allowed developers to escape the requirement for providing basic infrastructure to their new subdivisions by carving them into 'lots' at least five acres in size," Sharp said.

"Normally, developers recoup the money they spent on infrastructure by adding it to the cost of the lot. The Pruett family, the original developers of the 1984 subdivision (and still the owners of 17 lots), chose to take advantage of this loophole," she said. "The Planning Commission and City Council could not require a water line under state law, but they did ensure there was a note on the subdivision plat stating that water would come from individual wells."

"This project is enormously expensive from a cost-per-customer perspective, which is likely why Tennessee American has decided not to get involved on the front end and why the state and county are not participating. Currently, 45 years after the subdivision was platted, there are only eight houses and 24 vacant lots. The Council is being asked to earmark $4.5 million for this project," she said. "Assuming all of the 32 lots in the subdivision are required to pay water bills, that amounts to $140,000 per customer. Yes, there is future development potential to the south, and, with public water, more lots could be created since the five-acre loophole would no longer apply. But there are three different owners of those 100 acres."

"Please table the proposed amendment to set aside $4.5 million in taxpayer funds for this project and explore another funding approach. Many cities use assessment districts in which property owners who specifically benefit pay a percentage of the cost over time, and the local government picks up the public-benefit portion, perhaps 25 percent in this case to improve fire protection."

Councilman Dennis Clark said he will vote yes on the budget amendment. "I stand in solidarity with you. You deserve water," Clark said. He said city revenues from the area should rise by $500,000 per year after the water line is installed and added, "We've left $25 million on the table."