The December Crossville city council meeting will be the end of an era and the final regular meeting of longtime Crossville City Clerk Sally Oglesby.
Retiring Crossville City Clerk
Sally Oglesby
After 32 years, Oglesby will be hanging up her keyboard and turning the job of City Clerk to Valarie Hale who has worked as the assistant city clerk for a number of years in preparation for the handover. A special reception in honor of Oglesby is set for Tuesday, December 19, 1 PM at Crossville City Hall, Oglesby's final day.
The December 12 council meeting starts at 6 PM and will be preceded by the audit committee meeting at 5:15 PM and the Beer Board at 5:45 PM.
Several items on the agenda relate to utility services including water supply and wastewater treatment put forth in last weeks work session by Mayor pro-tem J. H. Graham. Graham is proposing that the city offer water sales to the Crab Orchard Utility District (COUD) as he says they are beginning a search for additional water supply. In addition, Graham proposed that the city study the possibility of taking water from the wastewater plant and treat it as they do in California to make it safe as drinking water.
Both of these topics were brought up at the end of the council's December work session and were not on the agenda for the work session. Graham said he'd been studying the future raw water report by J. R. Wauford and the future needs of the community from the Army Corps of Engineers. According to Graham that without a new water source Crab Orchard will need a new supply.
Graham said he would like to have the council approve at the December meeting for the city manager to offer up to 1 million gallons of water to COUD at the current wholesale rate with no required minimum purchase.
“It is important to me as a city council member,” explained Graham, “that the Crab Orchard Utility District knows that we are in the water business and that we have water to sell. I feel that it is important that we extend the olive branch.”
Graham also discussed water issues in Los Angeles where he said some 50 percent of water following wastewater treatment is then run through a process to make it safe for drinking when all of it was once pumped into the Pacific Ocean. According to Graham, that water used by LA is filtered, treated by reverse osmosis and then bombarded by high-intensity ultraviolet light. That water is pumped into the aquifer for future use from wells and the process is less costly then pumping water from the Colorado River.
Crossville Wastewater Treatment Plant
Graham said he would like to see the city investigate the possibility of a similar system to be discussed with engineers and get cost estimates for such a program.
Council will also discuss and consider establishing a Crossville Sports Council that would be made up of local community leaders who would promote the city and county's current sports events and programs as well as look to expand and add additional opportunities. They would also act as a central clearinghouse to make sure tournaments and other events do not conflict with those in the City and County, or other activities nearby that could impact the success of sporting events.
