A gesture of goodwill and cooperation toward a new administration has resulted in a much needed improvement on West Tennessee Avenue.
Soon after Greg Barker was elected mayor of Copperhill, Fannin County Commission Chairman Jamie Hensley reached out to talk about how the two governments might be able to work together.
That conversation led to the problem with West Tennessee Avenue in Copperhill.
“That short stretch of street has been a problem for Fannin County residents and our emergency services for a long time,” Hensley said.
“The huge potholes, broken pavement and general disrepair have caused countless problems, such as front end alignments with personal vehicles and our ambulances,” Hensley said.
The stretch of West Tennessee in such disrepair lies in Copperhill, but is a short connector within two sections of the street in McCaysville.
In order to fix the problem, a Memorandum of Understanding was written. Fannin County agreed to pave the half mile of street in Tennessee and Copperhill would agree to maintain it.
To further improve the street, McCaysville city leaders agreed to put a new layer of asphalt from where the county work stopped to the traffic light on Blue Ridge Drive.
The results were evident Friday, May 16, when the paving was complete.
“Everyone I’ve talked to is tickled to death,” Hensley said. “There are a lot of Fannin County residents who have to travel that street every day.”
Barker said, “Thank you to our counterparts in Fannin County. Working with the Fannin County commissioners, McCaysville City Council, and the East Polk County commissioners has been a pleasure. Improving our city’s infrastructure is a top priority. The Copperhill Board of Aldermen is working to maintain a town where we can all take pride.”
Copperhill Vice Mayor Jake Reuse was also excited by the progress saying, “Intergovernmental cooperation is precisely what the residents of the Copper Basin need and deserve.”