New high school put on pause

The County Commission met on Monday night to discuss budget amendments, giving donations to Hope Hohenwald and the Lewis County Senior Citizens Center, a new solution to recycle more effectively and the plans for the new high school put on pause.

During the alloted time for public input, Steve Hewlett, president and CEO of Hewlett-Spencer, LLC, the construction company hired to build the new school, came before the Commission to personally apologize.

In his apology, Mr. Hewlett said he was incredibly sorry but the guaranteed maximum price would not cover the cost of building the new school due to unforeseen costs and the unprecedented cost of building materials. He said the new cost would be an estimated $38 million. The guaranteed maximum was $29,387,544, and the company originally stated they pride themselves on standing by their guaranteed maximum price.

The official announcement came just hours after the County signed the construction contract with Hewlett-Spencer which could cost the County $60,000. The construction contract is valid for three years which means the County could continue the project in the near future and not lose the $60,000. As of now, it is unclear whether or not the project will be continued. Because a legal document was signed with a guaranteed maximum price, legal action could be taken but no steps have been made as of yet.

Commissioner Larry Pigg asked Mr. Hewlett when they found out it would be above the cost to which he responded they didn’t find out until after the contract was signed. Commissioner Patrick Halfacre asked Mr. Hewlett if he could turn to the back page of the contract, which was in the commissioners’ agenda packet, to confirm that the signature shown was indeed one of their representatives confirming that the Guaranteed Maximum Price “for the project would not exceed $29,387,544.” Mr. Hewlett confirmed that it was the signature of his representative and apologized again for the unforeseen costs, saying that he hoped the commissioners would consider having Hewlett-Spencer back in the future to get the new school built.

In an interview with current Director of Lewis County Schools, Benny Pace, he said, “I wanted everything to go smoothly when I left and not leave any burden for someone else to have to deal with, and now there is.. What I don’t understand is that I never had a meeting with them where I didn’t bring up the cost. Even at our meeting in April, I was told everything was good... I’m very disappointed.”

County Mayor Jonah Keltner echoed Mr. Pace’s feelings by saying, “I’m very disappointed that Hewlett-Spencer is trying to back out of their Guaranteed Maximum Price that they pledged in writing to the School Board just two months ago. Their website still boasts that once a GMP is set, any additional costs over that is their responsibility, so they should be liable and held accountable for that, in my opinion.”

The Commission had to confirm that they had received a “Report on Debt Obligation” document for the $60,000 from signing the contract. Commissioners Kyle Bobo and Aren Ragsdale motioned to accept the document, and the document was accepted in a unanimous vote.

Proposed Recycling Program

The County Government has sought a solution for recycling household waste to prevent spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to have it hauled to the Marshall County Landfill, and save what money they can.

One business owner submitted a proposal that would save Lewis County’s Solid Waste fund a large sum of money. Nathan Wheeler gave a presentation to the commissioners Monday night to propose a partnership between the county and his business “Simbeosys.”

Wheeler’s business model involves utilizing food waste and other recyclables from the Transfer Station, and eventually local businesses and restaurants, and turn it into premium-grade soil and fertilizer. Wheeler said this would come at no cost to the County as his company would be providing receptacles and biodegradable bags designated for food waste. They would run their own trucks and have their own employees to collect the waste multiple times a week, all year long.

The food waste itself would be broken down by composting.. but with worms. This way the worms could help biodegrade the food waste and other recyclables more quickly.

Commissioner Doug Jobbitt said that he loved the idea, but was hesitant when it was said it would be at no cost to the County. “When you have your own trucks and employees for this, I’m seeing a lot of cost. Where would your revenue come from?”

Wheeler responded that the revenue would come from selling the premium grade fertilizer and soil. He said that they would also sell the worms for fishing, feeding chickens and/or gardening.

The cost of fuel, Wheeler said, would be pending a partnership with the City by potentially solving one of their problems as well; sewage. Wheeler said that his company has found a way to utilize sewage to produce their own fuel that would be both more environmentally friendly and cost effective. The process has been patented and there is no other process like it, said Wheeler.

Wheeler said that the big-picture goal, inspired by going through the Leadership Lewis Program, was to also provide food stability for Lewis County by implementing a community garden as well as educational programs.

Wheeler said he had experts on his team that had worked with NASA that have helped him to come up with the process. He also stated he had investors, like The Berg Group who worked with Tesla, waiting on the outcome of the meeting to help him begin the project.

What he needed from the Commission was the following: (1.) To be allowed to place our company’s 40-foot open-top, roll-off container at the Lewis County Transfer Station, at no charge to Simbeosys nor the County; (2.) To receive a commitment that we have first refusal rights to process the county’s food waste from the Transfer Station, at no cost, for the next 15 years [effective upon the signing of the contractual agreement, through December 31, 2037]; (3.) To have an auto-renewal clause within our official contractual agreement; (4.) To be granted a tax abatement for the first ten years of this project, once it officially begins.

Commissioner Allison Tanner and Jim Grinder sponsored the resolution, and it passed in a unanimous vote.

Donations to Hope Hohenwald and the Lewis County Senior Citizens Center

During Public Input, Tonya Woodward, President and CEO of Hope Hohenwald, spoke to the Commissioners to say thank you for considering donating to the nonprofit and gave them reasons as to why it would be a good decision.

Woodward stated that Hope Hohenwald served 35 percent of Lewis County students, and has topped out at serving 158 students in their facility.

The number of students served is only going to increase, said Woodward, as the nonprofit recently purchased a property, neighboring their current facility, that will allow them to expand and enroll more children in their program that are currently on a waiting list.

She spoke of many programs Hope Hohenwald has implemented to help serve Lewis County’s youth, and said a donation would be a tremendous help especially after purchasing the new property.

The resolution stated that the County would be donating $10,000 to Hope Hohenwald from the remaining American Rescure Plan Act funds. Commissioners Halfacre and Timmie Hinson sponsored the resolution, and passed in a unanimous roll call vote.

Another resolution was presented to the Commission, seeking to donate an additional $10,000, from the remaining ARPA funds, to the Lewis County Senior Citizens Center to assist them with maintenance issues and other miscellaneous infrastructure needs.

Commissioners Halfacre and Ragsdale sponsored the resolution and it passed in a unanimous roll call vote.

Rescinding the Sale of Parcel 6.5 of Industrial Park to Lewis County Jr. Pro Football

Back in January of this year, the Lewis County authorized the Lewis County Junior Pro Football League to purchase Parcel 6.5 of the Industrial Park to build a football field.

Commissioner Jobbitt said they had reached out to him, and let him know that Junior Pro had worked out a deal to use the Middle School football field for their practices and games. Therefore, they no longer wished to purchase the parcel of land.

Commissioners Larry Hensley and Wendell Kelley sponsored the resolution which passed in a unanimous vote.

Lewis County Schools Budget Amendment

A budget amendment came before the Commission showing $221,923.16 had been moved from their Revenue Appropriations accounts into Expenditure accounts due to the Summer Learning programs and transportation for it.

There was also a budget amendment for their Food Services account, moving $36,678.82 from a revenue account to their expenditure “Food Supplies” account to purchase more food supplies for the summer program. Mr. Pace informed the Commission that they are having issues getting food supplied to the school, saying that they may order 100 items and only get 50.

Commissioners Tanner and Grinder motioned to accept the budget amendments, and it was approved in a unanimous roll call vote.

Highway Department Budget Amendment

A budget amendment came before the Commission, seeking to move $35,500 from the Highway Department’s “Transfer In” account into their “Salary Supplement” account. Commissioners Ronnie Brewer and Brian Peery sponsored the amendment, and it passed in a unanimous roll call vote.

Highway Department Surplus

A resolution came before the Commission, seeking to declare the following items as surplus property to be disposed of in public auction by the Highway Department; a 2019 Basic 700 Pneumatic Roller, a 1995 Trailboss Trailer, a 1998 Chevy Single Axle Dump Truck, a 1996 GMC Dump Truck Diesel TC7, a 1996 GMC Dump Truck Diesel SRA and a 1997 Ford F700 Dump Truck.

Commissioners Jerry Ashmore and Peery motioned to adopt the resolution, and the resolution passed in a unanimous vote.

Approval of Purchase for Lewis County Airport

Airport Manager Gary Nash requested to purchase a list of items needed at the airport for an estimated total of $8,200. The resolution stated the money would be used from the Local Government Recovery and Rebuilding Direct Appropriation State Grant (LGRRDA Grant).

Commissioners Halfacre and Ragsdale sponsored the resolution and the resolution passed in a unanimous roll call vote.

Approval of Purchase for the Lewis County Public Library and Archives

The Lewis County Public Library and Archives requested to purchase a list of items needed at their facility. The estimated total would be $7,925 from the LGRRDA Grant.

Commissioners Timmie Hinson and Halfacre motioned to approve the resolution, and the resolution passed unanimously in a roll call vote.

Confirmation of Meeting Three Star Program Requirements

A document came before the Commission seeking to confirm that Lewis County has taken action and met requirements to keep them in the Three Star Program which allows the County to receive state grants.

Commissioners Austin Carroll and Robert Brewer motioned to approve the document, stating they had met the requirements, which passed in a unanimous vote.

Authorizing the Surplus and Sale of Items from the Lewis County Transfer Station, Maintenance Department and Airport

A resolution came before the Commission seeking to declare the following items as surplus property and authorize their sale: a 2001 Ford F350 Work Truck, a 2016 Clean Burn Industrial Grade Waste Furnace, a 1985 Three Phase Compressor, a 2008 Ford Explorer AWD, and an Aircraft Diesel Tug.

Commissioners Tanner and Grinder motioned to adopt the resolution and the resolution passed in a unanimous roll call vote.

This article will be continued in next week’s issue. The Commission meeting ended in a recess, and is scheduled to resume Tuesday, June 28, 2022.