John Coffelt, Editor

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved at the March 7 meeting the Water and Sewer Commission’s recommended increases to water and sewer fees.

At their February meeting, the water commission recommended the increases to connections to help mitigate the expenses of providing services.

A sewer capacity fee was envisioned to address developers that pay for one sewer tab for multi-family dwellings.

The new residential water tap fees will be $1,500 for ¾ inch service and $2,000 for a 4 inch sewer connection. A capacity fee will be charged upon the project’s approval by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for $1000 per single family unit.

Hotel capacity fees are calculated based on half the number of guestrooms multiplied by the application fee.

Capacity fees for commercial and industrial facilities will be based on data from similar facilities, design criteria and other published data with the basis of 200 gallons per day equivalent to a single family unit.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.