Collinwood Commission Addresses Current Water Situation

The Collinwood City Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the conference/courtroom of Collinwood City Hall.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Glenn Brown. All commissioners were in attendance, including Mayor Brown, Vice Mayor Debie Pigg, Commissioner Shaundale Hanback, Commissioner Cindy Kephart, and Commissioner Kim McFall. City Manager Dana Simmons and new City Recorder Terica Weeks were in attendance as well.

The invocation was offered by Commissioner Hanback, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

The agenda and the minutes of previous meetings were unanimously approved.

Department reports were up first on the agenda. Commissioners reviewed each departmental report in their packet. Mayor Brown asked if the number of non-payment turnoffs was decreasing, and City Manager Simmons said the turnoffs had begun to decrease quite a bit as more customers started utilizing the auto-pay method.

Commissioner Hanback mentioned that he recently noticed a depression in the ground with a lot of water standing in it near the Range Field area north of town. He said that even with the recent rain, there seemed to be a lot of water possibly coming up to the surface from a potential water leak/line break underneath. The city manager said she would ask the Utility Department to go take a look at it.

Collinwood Water Plant Operator Kenneth Templeton addressed the commission and audience next about the current and potentially the future water situation in Collinwood. The water plant in Collinwood is 26 years old and is already stretched almost to its maximum for water production. It was revealed that during the ice storm earlier this year, the city got down to only having a small supply of water on hand due to line breaks throughout the city, and that was with the plant running 24/7. The new construction at C-Wood Lumber Company is also going to be taxing the water plant when it becomes fully operational. Templeton said that in his opinion, the city should be looking into new additional water sources.

Both Templeton and a few of the commissioners said they had become aware that the Mill Springs water property south of town was going to be sold soon. The purchase price won’t be cheap, but it would be a near-perfect solution to the water problem. City Manager Simmons confirmed that EDA grant money previously designated for a new storage tank for the current water system could be re-designated for a new water source. The commissioners verbally agreed that a new source would be more important than a storage tank, and asked City Manager Simmons to proceed with getting the grant designation changed.

Next, City Manager Simmons asked for the board’s approval to put a six-month hold on new water taps. With the water plant already being stressed potentially more than ever in the coming winter months, the commission agreed to place a six-month hold on new taps. The city manager said there were already three pending, and those will be done, but the hold will begin after those taps are made.

Next was a discussion of the city’s gas rates and how they would be applied to C-Wood Lumber Company with their new addition. City Manager Simmons relayed information from Tennessee Energy Acquisition Corporation (TEAC), which is the entity that sells gas to the city. She explained that gas rates fluctuate daily based on a supply and demand system. C-Wood Lumber will begin paying the city in advance for their gas usage, and their usage will be tracked daily. This will allow the city to come up with a fair rate for the pre-payment. The commission voted to charge C-Wood the average daily rate, plus a 35-cent transportation fee (which the city must pay TEAC as well), plus a 50-cent service charge.

The next item on the agenda was the first reading of a new utility damages ordinance. The ordinance allows the city to charge water, sewer, and gas customers for any damages to utility department property at their home or business that is not caused by the city or by normal wear and tear. The commission unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance.

Next was a surplus resolution to declare some old equipment as surplus, including a skid steer, a street sweeper, and other items. The commission unanimously agreed for the items to be declared surplus and to be sold.

Mayor Brown gave the Wayne County Welcome Center report for the month of September 2026. There were 405 visitors at the Welcome Center from 28 U.S. states and the United Kingdom. Volunteers of the Month were Frank and Amy Cannon.

Under “other” on the agenda, Vice Mayor Pigg said a gate was badly needed in the fence at the rear of Ralph Hughes Park, especially for events where vendors will be needing access. She also mentioned that the Beautification Board had met recently at the fire hall, and the building was full of garbage and desperately needed cleaning. City Manager Simmons said she would look into getting both things taken care of.

Vice Mayor Pigg and the other commissioners agreed that the new asphalt on the basketball court at Ralph Hughes Park looked great and agreed to looking into getting stripes painted on it for basketball and possibly pickleball as well.

In addition, Vice Mayor Pigg said the Beautification Board needed confirmation for what the city will buy and what the Beautification Board will buy for the upcoming Howling in the Wood event on October 31st.

City Manager Simmons addressed a few things before the meeting was over, including:

• After making a small correction, the city’s 2026-2027 budget was resubmitted to the state and was approved.

• She and department heads were looking at a Ford truck for the Utility Department and were getting quotes on a new police truck. Both were included in this year’s budget.

• She was advised by TEAC that the city’s gas rate is way too low, and the commission agreed that a rate study needed to be done. The rate can be raised incrementally over time instead of all at once.

• The city will have to purchase a new server for the computer system at City Hall very soon. The server can only be purchased from Local Government due to software compatibility, and City Manager Simmons was quoted $18,000.

Lastly, new City Recorder Terica Weeks thanked City Manager Simmons and the commission for hiring her for the position and said she is excited to do everything she can to make Collinwood shine.

With no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned.