NEWPORT-The Newport City Council approved the 2006 International Building Code and the 2006 Residential Code, on first readings, at their monthly meeting held Wednesday, Nov. 18.

A public hearing on the two building codes will be held Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the City Hall chambers, and then a second and final reading on the codes is expected to take place immediately following the hearing.

The City Council on Wednesday approved the two codes without their appendixes. Building permit fees remained unchanged. Builders and the city currently operate under the 1999 Southern Standard Building Code, according to City Planner Mark Robinson. Cocke County does not have a building code.

The City Council also voted to receive bids from companies interested in administering a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to allow Newport Utilities to extend water lines in Del Rio.

NU General Manager Ron Fugatt said prior to the vote, "It's up to the City (of Newport) to decide who administers the grant."

Council members were told the maximum amount that can be charged to administer the grant is six percent of the $500,000 CDBG grant.

In another issue, Council members discussed at length allocating part of the funds needed for NU to expand the sewer system to include apartments that property owner Frank Strickler plans to build on Cosby Highway. One motion was defeated because the vote was a tie (two, yes; two, no; and one abstention), and not a majority. Another motion failed to be seconded and was therefore not able to be voted on. 

In separate action, Council members decided to seek a grant for the maximum amount of $100,000 to repair the roof and install heating and air conditioning for the Tanner Cultural Center.

The Council also voted, after little discussion, to give the city administrator (currently Collins) one month's salary as severance pay for every six months of service, for a maximum of six months of severance pay.

In other action, City Council:

• Approved the maximum amount of $100, with Council member Dennis Thornton offering an additional $30 of his own, to pay for a bus ticket for one soldier in the Newport-based unit of the U.S. Army National Guard. The total of $130 will cover the transportation fare to send a soldier home for Christmas. Council members also agreed among themselves to buy one additional ticket with money out of their own pockets by splitting the $130 fare among all of the members;

• Voted to give two small parcels of land to the Tennessee Department of Transportation that they need for a right-of-way on Highway 411. One parcel is 20-feet by 20-feet. The other one is 258 square feet. The NU Wastewater Department Supervisor Carroll Proffitt said, "We have to do it, or they (TDOT) would condemn it and take it, anyway";

• Decided to hold a public hearing at the Dec. 8 Council meeting to hear from all parties neighboring a 20-foot alley right-of-way between Pikeview Avenue and Musterfield Road that Council members have been asked to close;

• Voted to set the maximum amount of public relations funds that are distributed to a maximum of $50 per request, with a maximum of two requests per fiscal year, and to require a written request for funds be filled out at City Hall;

• Waived a parade fee of $250 for the Christmas parade on Saturday, Nov. 28. Each float will be charged $10 to participate. Those riding horses or driving a vehicle will be charged $5 each;

• Approved $50 for an advertisement in the Newport/Cocke County Senior Services Directory;

• Reappointed Lawrence Ammons to the Newport Housing Authority Board, and reappointed Rick Carr to the Regional Library Board; and

• Approved a fundraising roadblock request from the Parrottsville Little League Football, for June 10, 2010.