Polk submits revamped rafting fee act

BENTON, Tenn. -- The Polk County Commission has voted unanimously to submit an amended act for collecting rafting fees to the Tennessee General Assembly.

Now the waiting begins.

If the act passes the Legislature, the County Commission must give its final approval to put the revised rafting fee into action.

The vote last week was 8-0 with Commissioner Wendell "Buster" Lewis absent.

Representatives of the County Commission and the Ocoee River Outfitters Association reached an agreement earlier this month on a new plan to determine and recoup the costs of emergency services for the rafting industry. The last version of the private act, a $2.50 per ticket tax, fell in a legal battle in 2008.

The amended act will base the rafting fee on data gathered and calculated each year, using rafting customer and other numbers.

It applies the prior year's per-customer cost to determine the per-ticket fee for the current year. The state has placed a cap of 50 cents on the fee.

Commissioner John Pippenger said a 2009 analysis calculated a fee of 18 to 21 cents per ticket as an example.

The commissioners agreed to report the newly calculated fee to the outfitters each January, giving them time to account for changes in costs before the launch of rafting season.

In other news, Polk County lost a recently awarded $100,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, according to a letter from Matt Kisber, former commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The funding was slated for lighting and heating/air conditioning upgrades in the Benton courthouse.

Kisber's letter, read by County Executive Hoyt Firestone, said the county's decision to opt out of the state's residential energy building code forced the state to re-evaluate the grant application and reduce its score by 15 points.

Without the extra points, Polk County no longer qualified for the grant, Kisber said.

The County Commission voted not to adopt the new state codes in a recessed meeting on Dec. 2. Commissioners cited concerns over increasing home construction costs after reviewing the issue with the State Fire Marshal's Office.

The letter said a new round of applications will open late this month.

Also, Carl Campbell of Safe Haven Animal Rescue Program asked the county to donate about 3.6 acres of land near the Polk County Justice Center for a volunteer-staffed animal shelter.

Campbell said the group hopes to establish an adoption program and to educate the public on the need to spay or neuter pets.

Commissioner Isaac "Buster" Bramblett, chairman of the building committee, said he plans to review the matter further with the animal rescue group.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. E-mail him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.