Jonesborough, Tenn. (WJHL) – On Monday, the Jonesborough Board of Mayor & Aldermen (BMA) passed an initial and full resolution that will help them proceed with expanding their water treatment plant.

Jonesborough Mayor Chuck Vest said the resolutions will help the town receive funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the project.

“Once we get the funding, you’ll see the construction begin on our water treatment plant,” Vest said. “But a bigger one of the more important things now is building a larger transmission line from that plant up to our town that’ll transmit many more gallons of water that we need.”

Vest said the town should know within months when they’ll receive the federal funding. That’s also when construction should start.

Upgrades to the plant will allow the capacity to have from the now roughly 3 million gallons of water to up to 8 million, with the ability to expand.

“Jonesborough is a growing little town, but we also know that Washington County, which is where [a] majority of our customers are, is growing just as much as the town of Jonesborough,” Vest said. “We’ve got to think about the next 30 to 40 to 50 years. By securing a larger plant with the capacity to almost triple our water output, it’s going to solidify the future of our community for the next 30 to 40 plus years.”

Vest said the town is mostly finished with the design phase for the plant.

“Expanding this water system began many years ago, and it started with a design phase, but also putting new readable water meters out into our system,” Vest said. “All that’s been done. Really what you see happening now too is for this larger transmission line that runs from our plant to our town, which is super important, we’re having to go out and get easements through to cross people’s property, and that’s been underway for close to a year now, too.”

Vest hopes the water treatment plant upgrade can be completed within two to three years.

Also at the meeting, aldermen approved a resolution to apply for the Local Park and Recreation Fund Grant (LPRF) to help create the First Frontier Trail which will connect Jonesborough to the Tweetsie Trail.