By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–At a short meeting of the Paris City Commission Thursday night, commissioners authorized the sale of the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center to Henry County.
The building at 1108 Tyson Ave., has been jointly owned by the city and county and the lease on the building expires in September.
City Manager Kim Foster said the pending expiration of the lease gave city and county officials the opportunity to “take a hard look at the lease” and the evaluate the building, its current use and each entities’ needs for the building.
After discussion with County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway, Foster recommended that the city sell its portion of the building to the county. The County Assessor appraised the building at $950,000, she said.
Ridgeway and Foster agreed the county would pay the city $475,000 for its half. Foster noted that the uses for the Tennessee Rehab Center have changed and the county needs it more than the city, which doesn’t utilize it much at this point.
Commissioners authorized Mayor Carlton Gerrell to sign the necessary documents to formalize the transaction. The proposed agreement will also be on the Henry County Commission agenda later this month.
Commissioner John Etheridge told Foster, “I appreciate you negotiating this for the city.”
Vice Mayor Jackie Jones presided over tonight’s meeting in the absence of Gerrell.
In other business:
–Finance Director Traci Shannon said the city’s retail sales tax revenue continues to be strong. The month of April reflected a 1.95 percent increase compared to last April and the city is ahead fiscal year-to-date by 7.23 percent. “Just as a reminder,” she said, “last year’s numbers that we are comparing against were extraordinary.”
As predicted, general fund expenditures exceeded revenues in the month of May. Other than the principal payments on debt service, larger expenses included $160,000 for the Wilson St. project; $56,000 for drainage projects; $175,000 for street department; $29,000 for police equipment; and $21,000 for landfill equipment.
She reported five business licenses issued in May:
New business: A3 Footing, Precise Aesthetics (booth); New Owner: Jack Jones Flowers, Paris Nutrition; Minimal License: American Blade Sharpening.
–Foster reported the contract with GFL/Waste Management to operate the transfer station has an escalator clause to allow for a yearly price adjustment based on the CPI for garbage collection.
That number for this year reflected a 4.2 percent increase. To offset the cost, the city proposed an increase of $1 per ton to the gate price as well as a reduction in the amount of weight that falls below the minimum charge. This will result in a 2.6 percent increase in price for Henry Co. residents and a 4.1 percent increase for out-of-county residents.
The weight threshold to fall into the category of a minimum $15 charge will decrease from 750 pounds to 500 pounds or less.
Foster said the occasional transfer station user should see no chance; a pickup load will still fall into the minimum charge amount. The change mainly affects commercial users.
Commissioners approved the new fees.
Photo: Commissioners and city officials discuss agenda items. (Shannon McFarlin photo).