The Limestone County Water & Sewer Authority voted Thursday to pay a contractor more than $50,000 to replace trees cut down during the Decatur River Crossing project.

As part of the process to run the 36-inch water pipeline under the Tennessee River, the LCWSA obtained a 20-foot permanent easement and a 30-foot temporary easement from the Tennessee Valley Authority. The easements are on the north side of the river in a wetland area, just west of Decatur Day Park.

As part of the easement agreement with TVA, LCWSA is required to replace all trees in the 30-foot easement, and they must be replaced inch-per-inch of tree diameter removed. The LCWSA has until next April to get the area restored.

Daryl Williamson, chief executive officer of the LCWSA, told the board he and others at the utility were “a little unaware” of the requirement until recently because those who knew about it “had departed from our organization.”

“We went back through the original contract and it was in the Q&A, but was not in the original contract,” he said. “The current staff didn’t know about it. … We have to deal with it now.”

LCWSA Engineer Alan Lash told the board the utility would have to replace about 1,400 inches of trees.

The board had two bids to consider, with Tupelo, Mississippi-based Fulghams Inc. being the low bidder at $50,900. Heritage Arborist of Arab submitted a much higher bid of $215,000.

Williamson explained the difference between the bids is Fulghams will plant bare-root trees, whereas Heritage Arborist proposed to plant ball and burlap trees. He said TVA also requires a five-year “survivability clause” on the trees.

“This may not be the last time we visit this,” he told the board.

Meter damage

Williamson told the board the LCWSA continues to reinstall broken water meters because residents are running over them with lawn mowers or breaking them with mower decks. The utility bills residents $200 for each broken meter.

“We’ve billed 88 customers and we’re using a common-sense approach,” he said. “If a meter is in a right of way and the state hits it with a bush hog, we’re not billing people for that because we don’t know who hit it.”

The utility has been installing the new digital meters, which are about a quarter-inch taller than the meter covers. Williamson said he believes customers have been warned about the cost of damaging the devices. Customer Service Manager Tammy Smith told the board a notice was printed on customers’ bills.

Board member John Farrar asked why a customer should have to pay if his or her meter was damaged by a neighbor. Williamson explained that if a customer’s meter is damaged, the customer is on the hook for the expense.

“It won’t be fair 100 percent of the time,” said Board Chairman Jim Moffatt.

Management training

Elsewhere Thursday, the board approved a proposal to provide DiSC training to LCWSA’s management team at a cost of $13,576. Williamson told the board he believes the utility’s managers “are great people,” but believes they need some training.

“I think we can invest in them a little and make the organization a better place and take it further,” he said. “There is a great need to make sure upper management staff works together.”

Other business

In other business, the board:

• Approved purchase of a new GPS unit for the LCWSA’s GIS department at a cost of $13,005;

• Accepted a 40-lot second addition of the Legacy Grove subdivision into the LCWSA water and sewer service area and a sixth phase of the Olde Cobblestone subdivision into the LCWSA water service area. The development is served by the city of Huntsville’s sewer system; and

• Approved the purchase of a Takeuchi skid steer at a cost of $56,831 from Corwin Equipment Company.