FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Franklin City Board members are weighing two competing proposals for a parcel of city-owned land off Old Carter's Creek Pike — one that would create transitional housing for unhoused residents, and one that would serve the city's wastewater department.
Franklin City Administrator Eric Stuckey presented the wastewater proposal to city leaders, bringing along a jar of what he described as a Class A Biosolid.
"What I have right here is what's called a Class A Biosolid," Stuckey said.
The material starts as wastewater before going through an extensive treatment process. While biosolids have some uses, the city currently disposes of most of them at a landfill — and landfill fees have skyrocketed.
Stuckey said the 3-acre parcel could serve as a storage site for the biosolids until sod farmers and gardeners purchase them.
"We can avoid the cost, and we can have a better use at the end of the day and potentially generate some revenue," Stuckey said. "And this is not sewage at the end of the day. This is an organic material."
Some neighbors and the Williamson County Homeless Alliance believe the land would be better used as a tiny-home transitional housing complex for unhoused residents.
"We don't need no waste management system out there," James Carothers said.
Stuckey acknowledged the potential for confusion around both proposals.
"I think there's always a potential for misunderstanding, especially when you talk about the wastewater plant and sewage and all that kind of stuff. And that's not what this is. This is not gonna be a treatment plant," Stuckey said. "And the same would go for how a transitional housing operation would be."
Stuckey said the decision is not a simple one.
"I mean, yeah, they're both community needs of one form or another. The water utility is a core business of the city. They both have value, and they both touch on community needs," Stuckey said.
There are multiple potential alternative sites to store the biosolids. Stuckey expects more dialogue in the months ahead, with no timeline for a decision set yet. City board members will ultimately decide how the land is used.
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