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UPDATE: Chattanooga City Council advances $3M Raccoon Mountain water project.UPDATE: The Chattanooga City Council advanced a multi-million-dollar plan Tuesday night to bring running water to residents living on top of Raccoon Mountain, many of whom say they have gone years without reliable access to water service.The proposed Raccoon Mountain Water Service Project would set aside more than $3 million to extend water infrastructure to the area.The ordinance passed on first reading Tuesday night, moving the project one step closer to approval.Still, some council members raised concerns about the cost of the project and how many residents it would benefit.“In the grand scheme of things, we have a budget getting close to $400 million, so $3.1 million doesn’t seem like a lot,” Councilwoman Jenni Berz said.“If you ask anyone, I’m a very frugal person, so I think about the impact we could have citywide and not just a small sector.” Councilman Chip Henderson, who has pushed for the project, said extensive work has already gone into the proposal.“We’ve done a lot of work on this project… We’ve spent years trying to get it to this point, and I don’t want to damage or hinder it now by saddling it with some amendments that could damage the whole project,” Henderson said.The proposal is scheduled for a final reading vote next week.PREVIOUS STORY: Every week, 74-year-old Bill Hailey has to take three to four trips to fill up portable water tank into a 1,000 gallon holding tank that feeds into their home.Hailey and his wife say this way of living is not sustainable.For more than 20 years, Bill and Karen Hailey have called Raccoon Mountain home.“It's kind of has a lot of country feel,” says Bill.The Hailey’s say they bought the home in 2006 knowing the property ran on a well.While that worked fine for years, the couple say their well collapsed not once but twice.“That's the thing about a well, you don't know when you're drilling whether you're going to hit water or not, and wells are not inexpensive,” says Karen.“In January of 2024, coldest week of the year, the well collapsed.” The Hailey’s say they are not neighbors who have this issue on Raccoon Mountain.Bill and Karen have been working closely with Chattanooga Councilman Chip Henderson of District 1 on a solution.That solution would cost $3.5 million dollars.Henderson presented the proposal to the Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday.Some council members expressed concerns about using the large amount of money for just 12 homes and 100 acres.The Hailey’s say it would a investment for the Raccoon Mountain community and the City of Chattanooga.Bill says “It's kind of like putting a plant in, you know, you put it and then you come back and it gets the return gets bigger and bigger.” Karen believes having a water system would help in critical times.“A fire truck will come up here, but there's no hydrants up here.” She says “If we had an emergency, they would have to use a tanker to bring water up here, and how efficient is that going to be, you know?” For now, Bill and Karen will have to continue paying Tennessee American Water Company to use a hydrant nearby for all of their water needs.Its a task that they say takes hours to do several times a week.The Chattanooga City Council will vote on Tuesday, May 19.Local 3 will keep you updated.PREVIOUS STORY: Raccoon Mountain residents have been without a proper water supply for more than a decade.A new proposal has been made to address this.However, not every council member was on board.During Tuesday’s Chattanooga City Council meeting, Councilman Chip Henderson of District 1 introduced this proposal.Some council members are concerned about the $3.5 million price tag that comes with it.He says that a water supply to this area is critical for both water access and fire safety.Councilman Henderson says he has been advocating for Raccoon Mountain neighbors since 2013, shortly after he got elected.Around 12 homes and more than 100 acres are affected.Councilman Henderson details the experience of one neighbor, 74-year-old Bill Haley.“[Haley] has to travel down to John A Patton Community Center and spend one hour filling up his water tank from a metered hydrant.Then he has to haul it back to his house [and] transfer it into another holding tank,” Councilman Henderson said.Henderson’s proposal left a big question: “So where's the money coming from?Well, I'm glad you asked,” he said.“The money will be coming from use of property, and that's a fancy term for interest on money in the bank.” The money would come from a surplus of cash created by interest the city earned this fiscal year.Other council members asked if neighbors took it upon themselves to seek a proper water line.“So I wanted to see if that was an option.If that's something they've expressed interest in,” asked Councilman Cody Harvey of District 4.Henderson replied, “We've really tried state, federal, local levels, to try to get any help that we could.” Some members raised questions about Henderson’s integrity.Others wonder what all this means for residents.“What would happen if we didn't run this line?” asked Councilwoman Dotley.Henderson replied, “If we don't run the line, my guess is that wells will continue to fail.Residents will continue to either have to haul water or, I guess, sell their property for whatever they can get out of it,” he added.The next public hearing is on May 19.Local 3 plans on attending.