A Franklin man who applied for a water tap 25 years ago came before the Town Council on June 2 to ask that the town honor his payment to now have the water installed.
Larry Fouts paid $1,000 for a water tap in October 2000 but said he but could not get an easement from his neighbors to have the lines run to his property. He said he is now able to get access and would like to have the water installed. According to town records, he has been receiving town sewer service since that time.
“I don’t care to pay a little bit, but I don’t feel like I need to pay a whole bill because that $1,000 was worth a lot more than what it is now. To me, that $1,000 was hard to get a hold of,” Fouts said.
Fouts still had his cancelled check in an envelope with KEEP written across it. Town Manager Amie Owens said if Fouts didn’t have the cancelled check there would not be any documentation of the payment as the town’s records were destroyed after three years in accordance with state law.
Fouts said he has been using a well, but the water is full of iron. “My wife don’t like the brown in the sink.”
When Fouts paid in 2000, it was for a 1 1/2 inch-tap, which the town no longer installs. The fee for a 1-inch tap is $5,278 ($1,500 tap fee, $2,028 for accessories, $1,750 availability fee). Subtracting the $1,000 he previously paid, he would owe $4,278.
There was a discussion about removing the availability fee, which didn’t exist in 2000. Taking that and his $1,000 payment out would leave a balance of $2,528. When asked if he could pay that Fouts said, “I don’t care to pay $500 or $700 or something like that, but I can’t afford that.”
The council voted to charge him $1,500 with the $1,000 applied to the cost, so he now owes $500.
There was a concern about setting a precedent with the vote, but the overall thought was this would not happen very often.
Mayor Jack Horton suggested they look at a time-limit for water and sewer taps, similar to what exists for business permits.
“In addition to the fact that it costs more to do it now, a lot of that is based on the fact that the labor costs are higher, materials are higher, and it costs more for the town to actually make the installation now,” Horton said.
“We’re honoring something that’s a long time ago, that’s not going to happen often,” said Council member David Culpepper. “We’re getting rid of a problem that’s going to help him. It’s not going to hurt us that much.”
Mashburn property
John Duncan asked the Town Council to give him more time to pay what his family owes for demolishing the house and clearing of the property at 981 East Main Street. The house previously belonged to Duncan’s aunt, Pearl Mashburn.
After several notices regarding the condition of the house and property, the town paid $16,000 to have the house torn down and the property cleared in 2024. The agreement for the family to repay the cost to the town expired on May 15 and no payments have been made. According to town records, the family owes $1,364.16 in interest in addition to the $16,000.
The three acres on East Main Street is listed for sale at $1.5 million. Duncan said they have had some interest in the property and they had turned down two potential buyers as they are being particular about who they sell it to.
“We’ve priced it to the point where anybody who wants to purchase this property is not going to do something that would be an eyesore or something that would not fit into Franklin’s plan, Macon County’s plan.”
Duncan said his family recently sold 100 acres along the Little Tennessee River. According to the Macon County Register of Deeds and GIS, they sold 93.89 acres to Stacy Bredenieck and Greg Mullins, owners of Winding Stair Farm, in August 2024 for $2.86 million. The property is now listed as owned by Biscuits for Everyone LLC, which is registered to Bredenieck and Mullins.
“We did that because we felt like that would be an asset to Macon County and to Franklin,” Duncan said.
Council member Joe Collins said if they just sold 100 acres, they ought to have the money to pay back the town.
Duncan said the money from the sale went into a trust.
“My concern is how long it sat there with people begging us to do something about how awful it looked,” said Council member Rita Salain. “The fact that we put out $16,000 and now wait a year, seems generous to me that we already did that.”
Collins made a motion that the family pay the interest due and that they have 12 months to pay the remainder due with 8% interest, or when the property closes if it sells, whichever comes first. The motion passed 4-1 with Salain opposing; Council member Robbie Tompa was absent.
Contract for clearwell project
The Town Council approved the Notice of Award and construction contract for Haren Construction for the clearwell and high service pump station project. The project would increase the town’s capacity from 56,000 gallons to 250,000 gallons. The three high-service pumps will have a capacity of 2 million gallons per day. The total cost of the project is $6,301,400.
Owens said the contract would not begin until July 2, but a signed contract is needed to start the lending process.
At the May budget session, the council looked at an option that would include using a combination of funds from retained earnings and financing about $3.15 million to pay for the project. They also continue to seek grants and other funding options.
Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey asked about federal funding that they had talked to Congressman Chuck Edwards about.
Owens said they requested $2 million through Edwards’ office and $2.9 million through the Department of Public Safety’s hazard mitigation program. She said that if any of the grant or federal money comes through it could be applied to the cost.
Owens said the cost of projects continues to increase; the project was originally estimated to cost $4.2 million.
Other business
In other action, the Town Council approved the following:
• The 2025-26 budget, which is required before the new fiscal year begins on July 1. The budget is $12,699,578.79, a 5.76% increase over the current year. The tax rate will remain at 33 cents per $100 valuation. The fire tax rate of 7 cents also remains the same. The budget includes a 4% Cost of Living Adjustment for employees. The water/sewer department budget includes a 10% increase in rates.
• The final payment to N.C. Department of Transportation for the Depot Street sidewalk improvements. The total cost of the project was $556,978.68 with the town’s share being $111,395.12. A payment of $74,914 has already been made, leaving a balance of $36,481.12.
• The renewal of the license agreement for the Franklin R/C Flyers to use the old landfill property as an airfield for model airplanes. The agreement is for July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030, with the option of extending for four one-year renewals.
• Purchasing a table ($2,000) for the Boots, Blue Jeans and Bling gala to support Southwestern Community College scholarships.
The next Town Council meeting will be Monday, July 7 beginning at 6 p.m. in the board room on the lower level of Town Hall. Town offices will be closed Friday, July 4 for the Independence Day holiday.