Robbinsville, McGill continue 4-decade relationship
Robbinsville – Though a foregone conclusion, McGill Associates still pitched Robbinsville’s aldermen with an 18-page statement of qualifications for an upcoming water-line replacement project at its March 6 meeting.
McGill Associates has been the lone presence in town meetings over recent months, as discussions and plans to launch an overhaul of aging lines throughout the municipality’s service area have draw closer. Exactly when the project will begin is still unknown, but grant money was received from the state to help fund the renovation; and the town just caught up on a late audit to release the funding from the grant to go toward the effort.
In the booklet distributed March 6, McGill notes its long-standing relationship with the town. The Asheville-based engineering firm launched in 1984 and began consulting with Robbinsville on projects that same year. Listed near the end of the bound presentation is a list of related projects McGill has helped with over the years, including an ongoing, downtown water and sewer improvement in Murphy; water and sewer improvements on Regal Street in Murphy, the road used to access the Cherokee County Detention Center; overhauls of lines in the towns of Canton, Forest City and Marshall; and drawing the original concepts for both the Tallulah Creek and Long Creek water treatment plans.
The plan is to replace around 1,000 feet of 6-inch iron water lines along Old Sweetwater and East Fort Hill roads, which are severely corroded. Though outside the town limits, Robbinsville supplies water and sewer to the area.
The board was also presented with a statement of qualifications from another Asheville-based firm, High Country Engineering, Inc. The aldermen reviewed the statement, but did not discuss it during the meeting.
Other news and notes
* Alderwoman Debbie Beasley commended the quick work completed by Franklin Fencing to build a new wrought-iron fence along East Main Street/Veterans Hill.
Beasley wanted to ensure Franklin Fencing was paid immediately; alderman Kenneth Hyde quickly agreed. The board approved a $63,169 bid from the company in December to complete the project.
The fence replaces a perilous and aged wooden fence that was well past its due date. Stretching from the intersection at Five Points Road to just below town hall, the new assembly is also capped with solar lights.
* Mayor Shaun Adams drafted a code of ethics for the board, which drew some interesting discussion with aldermen Kenneth Hyde.
Singled out was a paragraph on nepotism, which Adams noted had been an issue in the past.
“I’m not willing to change our policies and procedures (based) on isolated incidents that have happened in the past,” Hyde replied. “We’re trying to move forward and we’ll never go nowhere looking at the past.”
Hyde believed that the code read more like policies with personnel. Adams first asked if Hyde wanted the nepotism paragraph removed, then suggested a discussion on updating the town’s personnel policy.
Hyde agreed with the latter and the discussion was tabled.