The Cumberland Plateau Water Authority Board has concerns about the timeline for a proposed merger with the Crab Orchard Utility District.
May 19 had been considered as a date to begin the process, which has yet to be approved. Cumberland Plateau Water Authority Chairman Greg Hanson said he believes the board is not prepared for the merger just yet. Hanson said his concerns are more of a matter of trying to pick a date for transition that has the least potential impact, primarily from an accounting and business transition perspective.
“There are some things that lead me to believe that doing at a month end or even better at a fiscal year end, which in our case would be June 30, would make the bookkeeping relative to shutting down one company and starting up another company just a little bit easier,” Hanson said.
Hanson said May 19 is a very ambitious date. Hanson said if Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster approves the merger, Foster will be the one determining the date to begin the transition.
“I am comfortable that he will listen to our feedback and we’ll pick something that we are all comfortable would work, but I understand he is in a hurry to get it done, and we all want to see the transition completed,” Hanson said. “We have spent a lot of time working on this.”
Hanson said Crab Orchard Utility customers would not likely notice a difference during the merger. Hanson said the water authority has already reached out to First National Bank, which is partnered with Crab Orchard.
“We have had conversations with First National to make sure that the things that are already in place for direct payment of bills and so forth can be retained, and so ultimately our objective is that it will be completely transparent to the customers,” Hanson said. “That’s one of the things we are working to assure we can do regardless of whatever day happens to get selected.”
The Cumberland Plateau Water Authority will meet with Foster to host a public hearing on Monday.Hanson said the Water Authority will call a special meeting to discuss the results of the public hearing and the level of comfort in terms of how quickly the authority could see a transition to completion.
The special called meeting will take place on Thursday at Noon at the Crab Orchard Utility District office. A Public Hearing will be held on the same day, beginning at 6pm at the Community Complex.
