Martel, LCUB consolidation unknown
 

Jeremy Nash news-herald.net

A consolidation agreement between Lenoir City Utilities Board and Martel Utility District remains unfinished.

Martel board members left February’s meeting without a vote.

Discussion began in August when LCUB initially approved moving forward with the process. Lenoir City Council in October also approved plans for an agreement between the city and Martel for consolidation.

Martel is the final group that must pass the document before a public necessity meeting with Loudon County Mayor Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw can be held.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Mark White, Martel board member, said. “I think that everybody has the great ideas in how things are going to work on it and then when you get down to the details, it’s the devil in the details working it out. It’s back and forth between an attorney here and an attorney in Nashville and I mean they don’t have a final document for us. I mean I’ve gotten parts of it and pieces of it but I do not have the final document.”

One discussion has been salaries for Martel distribution manager Larry Butler and manager Gayle Matlock. That has since been settled, White said.
 

White could not determine a timetable when the document would be approved by Martel.

“Obviously, we’re set and ready to go and waiting on them,” Tony Aikens, Lenoir City mayor and LCUB chairman, said. “The ball’s in their court, and I hope in speaking with the general manager of the utilities, Shannon Littleton, I would hope that they will notify us next month that they’re ready to go and we can get on with it. We’re waiting on them, and they may very well have a special called meeting, which they could. We’ve not notified the county mayor’s office for the hearing because we’ve had a hearing set twice now or three times and so we’re just not going to get on his schedule until we have got a definite answer from Martel.”

Aikens still favors the consolidation.

“As far as we’re concerned it is (still happening),” he said. “The ball’s in their court. If they want it to happen, it’ll happen. It appears like that everybody’s on board, but we’re just waiting on Martel. I think for the benefit of the ratepayers on the Martel Utility district, I think it should happen, but again, it’s up to them.”

Shannon Littleton, LCUB general manager, could not be reached for comment by News-Herald presstime.