Murfreesboro sets $4,100-per-acre Butler Drive sewer charge
City of Murfreesboro Water Resources, Tennessee · Meeting date: October 15, 2026 · Published: October 16, 2026
Murfreesboro City Council unanimously approved first reading of an ordinance creating the Butler Drive Sanitary Sewer Special Assessment District. The charge would apply, in addition to standard connection and service fees, to properties discharging into the newly extended system until costs are recovered.
Key points
- Council unanimously approved Ordinance 26-O-40 on first reading after a public hearing with no speakers.
- The Butler Drive district covers about 115 acres outside the floodway north of Joe B. Jackson Parkway.
- Properties connecting to and discharging into the system would pay $4,100 per acre, plus other applicable sewer charges.
- The sewer works comprise a 6-inch force main along Butler Drive and a connecting gravity main; staff put construction and finance costs at about $470,000 over a 15-year, 3.5% financing assumption.
Full report
Murfreesboro City Council has taken the first formal step toward recovering its Butler Drive sewer-extension costs from future development, unanimously approving a proposed $4,100-per-acre special assessment for properties connecting to the new system.
Ordinance 26-O-40, approved on first reading on 15 October following a public hearing with no speakers, would establish the Butler Drive Sanitary Sewer Special Assessment District. The area covers approximately 115 acres outside the floodway north of Joe B. Jackson Parkway, in the northwest quadrant of the Butler Drive and I-24 interchange.
The assessment would be payable before a property connects for sewer service, in addition to normal tapping, connection, service and other applicable charges. It would apply to land within a lot’s property lines where sewage is discharged into the Butler Drive system, and would remain in place until the actual project and financing costs have been paid in full. Properties whose sewage does not discharge into the Butler Drive system would be excluded, subject to a determination by the Water Resources Department director or designee.
Water Resources staff said the department had received requests for sewer service in the Butler Drive area for years, but had lacked development plans of sufficient scale to justify an extension. The construction of Buc-ee’s southwest of the interchange, QuikTrip to the northwest, and the realignment of Butler Drive changed that assessment, according to the staff report.
The city funded and installed a 6-inch force main parallel to and within the Butler Drive right-of-way at a cost of $285,000. That line was initially unconnected to the sewer system. Water Resources subsequently designed a short gravity-sewer extension in-house, with its operations and maintenance construction crew completing the work for $76,000. The system has been extended and tested and is ready for connections, staff told council.
The report identifies $361,000 in project spending from working-capital reserves and the FY27 operations and maintenance budget. Using a 15-year financing term at 3.5% interest, staff calculated total construction and financing costs of about $470,000 and recommended the rounded $4,100-per-acre assessment. One required easement was donated by the property owner; the balance of the work was within city right-of-way.
The Water Resources Board recommended the district on 22 September. The ordinance requires a second and final council reading before taking effect.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council - Regular Session, City of Murfreesboro Water Resources