Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster will be holding a public hearing to discuss the merger of the Crab Orchard Utility District and the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority Monday.
Foster said he is holding the public hearing to hear the arguments from the utility district on why the merger should be supported. Foster said he will have a big decision to make after hearing the arguments.
“I will hear anything that the public has to say about it, and then I’ll determine if it’s in the best interest of the county and the citizens for that to happen,” Foster said. “And if so, I would write an order, and that order will either accept or reject the merger. And if it accepts, it would move forward.”
Foster said he knew both entities were in discussions about a merger, but he has not had a direct conversation with either of them about the merger. Foster said he encourages the public to attend the meeting.
“If it’s something with a public interest, I always invite the public out,” Foster said. “If people have a strong opinion one way or the other, definitely come and voice it.”
Foster said if he approves the merger, more utilities may follow in the footsteps of Crab Orchard. Foster said he does agree that something needs to be done to address the water shortage in Cumberland County.
“We are growing at a very fast rate,” Foster said. “We are one of the fastest-growing communities in the Upper Cumberland, and with that population growth comes need. This issue has to be addressed one way or another, but like I said the goal of the state has been that it’s a regional concept addressing it where everybody is working together with a common goal, and we’ll see if the two things match up with this merger or not, but the concept of economies at scale working together is always a good thing.”
The Crab Orchard Utility District public hearing will take place Monday, May 12, at the Cumberland County Community Complex. The hearing will begin at 6pm.
