Springfield Votes Flip On Cheatham St RR Closing for CSX In August Board Meeting
SPRINGFIELD TENNESSEE: (Smokey Barn News) – The stand out in this week’s Springfield City meeting was the vote to close the railroad crossing on Cheatham St.
The recorded meeting (attached to the top of this report) is just a little over 1.5 hours long but you can adjust the playback speed (behind the little gear on your PC) or (the three dots in the upper right corner on a mobile device) and zip through the meeting. We have added a time marker to the section that covers the Cheatham St closure. Just click on the link.
During the last city meeting, it seemed that there was a fair chance that the measure would pass, however, something apparently changed in the last 30 days because a new vote on the matter failed Tuesday night 7 to 0. To skip to the section click here->34:34.
Springfield put in motion a contract with CSX to permanently close the Cheatham St Rail Road crossing to vehicle traffic permanently. Continue reading for more details or you can go to 42:17 in last month’s city meeting to hear the city address on the matter.
In a deal with CSX, the city of Springfield would have permanently closed the Cheatham St Rail Road crossing. It’s part of a deal with CSX that would have netted the city $346,000 to retrofit the Memorial Blvd bridge crossing to finally fix the flooding issue on Memorial Blvd around the train bridge that has plagued the city and Farmers Bank for years. (LOCATION OF FLOODING) The future of the money and the disposition of Cheatham Street crossing is now unclear, at least for the moment.
One issue that came up during the meeting was the question of liability for a collapsed culvert that is believed to be the primary cause of flooding at the Memorial Blvd railroad bridge.
There was also a discussion about a lack of community support to close the Cheatham St crossing permanently. Mayor Schneider indicated during the meeting that she had personally received calls from citizens opposed to the closing.
As far as the rest of the meeting, we have added the agenda below.
AGENDA: BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 18, 2020
1.0 Call to order 6:00 P.M.
1.1 Pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
1.2 Approval of minutes from the regular meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen held July 21, 2020.
1.3 Public Hearing:
1. Ordinance 20-15, an ordinance rezoning nine (9) parcels located in the 9th Civil District on 17th Avenue East from MH Mobile Home District to MRO Multiple Residential and Office District.
2. Ordinance 20-16, an ordinance rezoning six (6) parcels located in the 9th Civil District on Baldwin Lane from R20 Low-Density Residential District to R7 High-Density Residential District.
3. Ordinance 20-17, an ordinance abandoning the right-of-way at the intersection of Baldwin Lane and Harp Lane.
4. Ordinance 20-18, an ordinance amending the fiscal year 2021 annual budget for the City of Springfield by amending certain General Fund and Utility Fund operating budgets.
2.0 Legislative
2.1 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-13 on 3rd and final reading. An ordinance to adjust the security light rental rates of the Springfield Electric Department.
2.2 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-14 on 3’d and final reading. An ordinance rezoning the corner of Ruth Street and Golf Club Lane from R10 to MRO.
2.3 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-15 on 2‘d reading. An ordinance rezoning nine (9) parcels located in the 9’h Civil District on 17’h Avenue East from MH Mobile Home District to MRO Multiple Residential and Office District.
2.4 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-16 on 2‘d reading. An ordinance rezoning six (6) parcels located in the 9’h Civil District on Baldwin Lane from R20 Low-Density Residential District to R7 High-Density Residential District.
2.5 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-17 on 2nd reading. An ordinance abandoning the right-of-way at the intersection of Baldwin Lane and Harp Lane.
2.6 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-18 on 2nd reading. An ordinance amending the fiscal year 2021 annual budget for the City of Springfield by amending certain General Fund and Utility Fund operating budgets.
2.7 Discuss and possibly take action on Ordinance 20-20 on 1″ reading. An ordinance closing the portion of Cheatham Street that crosses CSXT right-of-way.
2.8 Discuss and possibly take action on Resolution 20-30. A resolution awarding the bid for the 2C construction project to Scott & Ritter, Inc. from Bowling Green, KY.
3.0 Administrative
3.1 Discuss and possibly take action on the adjustment of the retail electric rates of the Springfield Electric Department due to a wholesale fuel cost adjustment by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
3.2 Discuss and possibly take action on the adjustment of monthly gas rates of the Springfield Gas Department.
3.3 Discuss and possibly take action on appointments to the Springfield-Robertson County Joint Airport Board.
3.4 Discuss and possibly take action to approve a community grant in the amount of $2,500 from the Walmart Community Grants Team. The grant will be used for the 3’d Friday Night Movie in the Park.
3.5 Discuss and possibly take action to approve change order #3 with Cleary Construction, Inc. in the amount of $66,647.28 for the Phase 5 lnterceptor Project. The new contract amount will be $7,286,435.78.
3.6 Discuss and possibly take action to approve a contract with Griggs & Maloney, Inc. in the amount of $45,000 for engineering services to design the new Greenbrier pump station.
3.7 Discuss and possibly take action to approve a contract with Griggs & Maloney, Inc. in the amount of $78,000 for engineering services for the optimization upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant.
3.8 Discuss and possibly take action to approve a contract with Community Development Partners, LLC for program management services for the Phase 2C wastewater collection system upgrades.
3.9 Discuss and possibly take action to approve an employment contract for the position of Electric Utility Director.
3.10 Discuss and possibly take action on a request from the Robertson County Fair Board to waive the disconnect and reconnect fees for several meters at the Fair Grounds.
3.11 Discuss and possibly take action to approve a CSX closing agreement for the Cheatham Street railroad crossing.
4.0 Consent
4.1 Public Works Department request for approval to purchase a 2021 Mack refuse truck in the amount of $299,894.83 utilizing the Sourcewell contract number #17907 from Stringfellow Inc. of Nashville, TN.
Budget: Sanitation $300,000
4.2 Wastewater Department request for approval to purchase four wastewater lift station controllers in the amount of $68,000 from Nedrow & Associates, Inc. of Murfreesboro, TN as a sole source. Budget: $68,000
4.3 Electric Department request for approval to award the bid for wire in the amount of
$24,407.04 to Power Supply Company, LLC of Chattanooga, TN.
5.0 City Manager’s Report
