City Council

MINUTES OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL, TENNESSEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING September 3, 2019 CALL TO ORDER : The City of Bristol, Tennessee City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Margaret Feierabend on Tuesday, September 3, 201 9, at 7:00 P. M. in the Slater Center Auditorium . ROLL CA LL: Present: Mayor Marga ret Feierabend, Vice Mayor Mahlon Luttre ll, Councilman Chad Keen, Co uncil woma n Lea Powers, and Councilm an Vince Turner. Others Present: City Manager William Sorah, City Attorney Danielle Smith, City Reco rder Tara Musick, and members of City staff. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANC E: The Honor Guard of Patton-Crosswhite Post 6975, presented the Colors, gave the invocation and led the pl edge of all egiance. AGENDA ADDITION S AND/ OR CHA NGES : None. PROCLAM ATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS: Buckle Up For Life Child Safety Seat Week - Mayor Feierabend read a proclamati on designating September 15-21, 20 19 as Buckle Up For Life, Child Safety Seat Week. Sam uel Jones, M. A. CPST, Child Passenger Safety Program Coordinator fo r Bri stol' s Promi se, Melanie Fleenor, of the Bri stol Virginia Fire Depa1t ment, and Lieutenant Matt Chase, of the Bristol Tennessee Fire Department, were in attendance to accept the proclamation. Lieutenant Chase spoke about the program and said it was an honor to be abl e to provide thi s service to the community. Mr. Jones said it was an honor to rece ive the proclamation and they hope to do more with car seats this year as grant monies totaling $ 10,000 have been received from the Children's Hospital in Cincinnati and Toyota for car seat education. Ms. Fleenor encouraged anyone having questions or concerns about their chil d safety seats to stop by any Fire Department in Bristol, Tennessee or Virginia and they wi ll be glad to help. The Mayo r continued by say ing to become a child safety seat teclrnician requires partici pation in a 32-hour training. Recognition - VFW Patton-Crosswhi te Post 6975 member Bud Davis spoke of behalf of Post Co mmander Charles Reis Ier and explained some of the work they do in the communi ty. He stated their auxiliary is now number one in the nation fo r the service they provide to the community. Mr. Davis presented a plaque to the Council and the Ci ty in appreciation fo r continued support of the post over the past 73 years. PRESENT ATIONS: None. PUBLIC HEARING: Mayor Feierabend opened the Public Hearing.  City Council Meeting September 3, 20 19 Page 2 of 9 Ordinance 19-7 - An Ordinance to Amend the Access Control Section of the Bristol Tennessee Zoning Ordinance City Manager Bill Sarah said this item will be considered later in the evening on second read ing. Ordinance 19-7 authorizes an amendment to Section 225 of the Bristol Tennessee Zoning Ordinance as it applies to access control standard s. The impetus for this issue was derived from an appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeal s earli er thi s year regard ing an existing co nnection of a private driveway to a public street, which is what Section 225 regul ates. Currentl y, access control regulations allow a maximum width of 20 feet fo r a driveway connecti on to the public street. The appeal was based on a dri veway co nstructed on a width of 24 feet. Staff has concluded that expanding the width of the driveway access from 20 fee t lo 24 feet would not create an unsafe condition or be detrimental to the purpose of the regulation. The proposed amendments were presented to the Planning Comm ission and unanimously approved by them at their July 15th meeting. Jacob Chandler, City Engineer, further detailed the ordinance request. As a result of some of the cases presented to the Board of Zoning Appeals, staff took the opportunity look at standards fo r the neighboring communiti es including the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Transportation. Their standards allowed for 24-foot wide dri veways and staff felt that was an appropriate change to make. Staff then looked at that section in its entirety to see if furth er improvements could be made. One improvement is to clari fy that this section of the ordinance applies to the driveway connection only inside the public right-of-way. It does not appl y to anything on private property. The second improvement deals with circular, or U-shaped dri veways. If it is a single driveway, the maximum width is 24 feet. However, if it is a circular driveway the combined width is also 24 feet so the maximum dri veway width is 12 feel. In add ition, fo r sa fety and access issues the distance between the two entrances shou ld be at least 30 feet. There was no public comment on this item. Mayor Feierabend closed the public hearing porti on of the meeting. APPEARANCE O F CITIZENS: Trevor Leonard , 32 6th Street, wanted to speak on a couple of things he did not address when he spoke at pri or meeti ngs. Shelby Towers does not have parking availabl e for famil y members and care givers of their residents, so since the parking around the Post Office has been changed to a two-hour limit those persons are having to interrupt their visit to move their vehicles. He spoke against the new signage that gives consent to the tires of that vehicle being chalked fo r parking enforcement. He says grease penci Is are apparently being used for this purpose and he along with one of his empl oyees now have grease pencil marks on the paint of their vehi cles. If the sign says chalk, please use chalk as it is more eas il y removed from paint than a grease pencil. He understands that now the City has secured add itional parking in three lots downtown, 6th Street across from Angry Italian, across from Machiavelli 's on 5th Street, and one near L.C. King, all of which wi ll be timed. He said a member of City staff told him it is not the City's responsibility to provide him or any resident or any employees a parking space. Mr. Leonard said it is also not the City's responsibility to provide parking for customers either, but if this continues the downtown area will not thri ve. Craig Widner, 26-1/2 6th Street, is a resident who lives up the street from Mr. Leo nard. He said there is no parking problem in downtown Bristol during the day, but at night. He paid $32 one day to park at hi s own home due to being caught in two conference calls and hence, co uld not go out to move hi s  City Council Meeting September 3, 201 9 Page 3 of 9 vehi cle. This is not friendly to the res idents or to those coming to eat lunch who then shop afterward s. He understands the City had a total revenue of $17,000 in parking ti ckets last year. I-le fee ls maybe the sales tax amount may surpass that if people were allo wed to shop without parking restrictions. He disagrees with the signage and have been to ld by a couple of attorneys he does not have to give up hi s Fourth Amendment ri ght because of the install ation of a sign. He feels res idents and business owners are being punished during the day. He spends most of his money in the downtown area wh ich is tax revenue to the City, and he feel s the City is encouraging him to move somewhere else. Mr. Widner sa id he has spoken to many business owners who are ready to take the situation to court and that a Bri stol , Virginia official said they are not enfo rcing the parking time restrictions as it does not make sense. He said there has been conversations over a period of months, but would prefer to see acti on toward the City being a resident and business friend ly area. APPOINTMENTS: None. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: A. First Reading of New Ordinances: Ordinance 19-8 - An Ordinance to Amend the Electronic Message Boards Section of th e Bristol Tennessee Zoning Ordinance City Manager Sorah said thi s was a topi c discussed at the July work session and it proposes to amend Section 203 of the Bristol Tennessee Zon ing Ordinance as it relates to the use of electronic message boards. Currentl y, electronic message boards are only permitted in B-3 (General Business) and also in a PBD (P lanned Business District). The Planning Commi ss ion made a recommendation to City Counci l fo r expanding the use of electronic message boards to include B-2 (Central Business), B-2E (Central Business Distri ct Expansion), M-1 (Light Industrial/B usiness), M-2 (General Industrial), and M-3 (Heavy Industrial) zon ing districts. Council expressed co ncern for expanding the use of electronic message boards in the B-2 (Central Business) District and requested the Planning Commission rev isit this aspect of their recommendation. Ms. Cherith Yo ung, Planning Services Manager, was present to di scuss the recommendation of the Planning Commi ssion to be considered on first read ing. Ms. Young recognized Steven Mott, the newest add ition to the Pla,ming Division, and stated that he and Heather Moore, also in Planning, worked many hours on thi s task. Ms. Young continued by stating the task was to review the current electronic message board regulations embedded in the City's zoning ordinance and update, clarify definitions, and determine if there was need or interest in expanding the allowed zones. Currently, electronic message boards are only allowed in B-3 (Gene ral Business) and PBD (Planned Business District). City Council and the Pl anning Commiss ion discussions determined it is appropriate to ex pand the allowed zones to include B-2E (Central Business Distri ct Expansion), M-1 (Light Industri al/ Business), M-2 (General Industrial), and M-3 (Heavy Industri al) zoning districts. Recommendation submitted to Council also includes the expansion of the type of message board to include not only a free-stand ing sign but a wall sign as well. Language was added that prohibits animation on a message board; to clearl y prohibit off-premise advertising; and to clarify that signage pertaining to regional entertainment fac ilities / billboards are addressed in other sections of the ordinance. The Planning Commiss ion considered City Co uncil revision comments during their August 15111 meeting and concurred with Council recommendations. The revised amendment is what has been presented to Council thi s evening and is recommended fo r approval and does not include the B2 (Centra l Business) Distri ct.  City Council Meeting September 3, 201 9 Page 4 of9 If Ordinance 19-8 is approved on first reading, a public hearing and second reading will be scheduled for th e October Isl meeting of Council. Council woman Lea Powers made a motion to approve the ordinance on first reading and Vice Mayo r Mahlon Luttrel I seconded. Council woman Powers thanked the Planning Commission, Pl anning Division, and staff fo r all the hard work on thi s issue. The moti on passed unanimously by roll call vote. Ordinance 19-9 - An Ordinance to Amend the Bris tol Tenness ee Zoning Ordinance for Allowed Uses in B-2E Zone City Manager Sorah said this was also di scussed briefl y at the previous Council work session. The B- 2E District was created in 201 8 specifi call y fo r the West State Street Corridor. The character of that corridor was originally zoned B-3 whi ch had very stringent parking requirements as well as setback requirements. These served as impediments to the redevelopment of this co rridor and was the thought process behind the creati on of the B-2E District last year. At that time, there were some concerns as to the allowed uses within the new district. As a result of those concerns, the Pl anning Commission and staff have spent considerable time during the past year discussing modifi cations and recommendati ons to be presented to Council. City Manager Sorah requested Ms. Cherith Young, Plaiming Services Manager, to further detail the recommendati ons. Ms. Young stated that at the conclusion of the 2018 work on this topic Council directed staff to look at the li st of uses again and to pay specific attention to mini-warehouses, self-storage units, daycares, and dry-cleaners. Staff did so and presented their findings to the Planning Commission, and they voted unanimously to fo rward a favorable recommendation to Council. This amendment includes correction of any errors fo und; additional / different language fo r the purpose of clarity; and a definition fo r artisan teclmical production facility in hopes to capture all the manufac turing type uses such as food , apparel, shoes, and light technical type manufacturing. Artisan technical production uses under I 0,000 square feet it is allowed as a permitted use. If it is over 10,000 square feet it is listed under a special use permit list. Daycares were specifically added lo the permitted use list as were dry-cleaners. In discussion with the Planning Commi ssion, their recommendation was to eliminate the mini-warehouses and self-storage units entirely so those wo uld not be allowed in the B-2E District. One additional change that staff suggested, and the Planning Commiss ion recommended approval of, was since the intent was to encourage redevelopment by utili zing what already ex ists such as build up on the streets, there are no setback requirements, lessened landscaping requirements and lessened parking requirements. Something that was added is the current ordinance does not mandate building at the setback line, it is all owed but not mandated, so if the developer chooses to build back away fro m the setback line there would be additional landscaping requirements. Councilman Vince Turner asked if thi s corridor goes to 18 111 Street and Ms. Young answered yes, fro m Volunteer Parkway to 18 111 Street. Mayor Feierabend thanked the Planning Commission and staff fo r being so thorough. As there were no questions, Councilman Chad Keen made a motion to approve the ordinance and Councilman Turner seconded. The moti on passed unanimously by roll call vote.  City Council Meeting September 3, 20 19 Page 5 of 9 B. Adoption of Ordinances (Second Reading): Ordinance 19-6-An Ordinance to Abandon Certain Portions of Tremont Avenue, Oakland Drive, and Adjacent Unnamed Public A ll eys as Public Rights-of-Way (Middle School Expansion) City Manager Sarah exp lained with the construction of the new middle school and aggregation of properties there it is necessary to close certain City streets and alleyways. Thi s was di scussed in the City Co uncil wo rk session as well as approved on first readi ng last month. He req uested David Metzger, Traffic Engineer, to prov ide a synopsis of the fo ur aband onments. Mr. Metzger presented a map showing the twenty-one properti es that were acqu ired by the City to accommodate the new middle school. With the existing school fac ilities and these add itional prope11ies, there are four sections of public rights-of-way that are now completely encapsulated. They include Tremont Avenue from Columbia Road to Oakland Drive; Oakland Drive from Tremont Avenue to College Avenue; the north / south pub lic all ey from Co lumbia Road to Oak land Drive; and the east I west alley from Co llege Avenue to and between Columbia Road and Oakland Ori ve. The City owns all the property aro und these rights-of-way and the construction is at a point where it is necessary to consider abandonment so the footprint of the bui lding can overlap these rights-of-way and the construction process can co ntinue. This ordinance was considered by the Planning Comm ission in addition to first reading by Council and received unanimous approval by both. Since there are no other adjacent property owners no citi zen input was req uired. Thi s is the second reading for approva l to continue with abandonment as presented. Councilman Turner motioned to approve Ordinance 19-6 and Co uncilwoman Powers seconded. As there was no furthe r discussion, a ro ll call vote was taken and the ordinance passed unanimously on second reading. Ordinance 19-7 - An Ordinance to Amend the Access Control Standards Section of the Zoning Ordinance This item was summarized during the Public Hearing portion earl ier on this Agenda. As there was no further discussion, Vice Mayor Mahlon Luttrell motioned to approve Ordinance 19-7 and Councilman Keen seconded. There was no fi.1rther discussion, a ro ll call vote was taken, and the ordinance passed unanimously on second read ing. Resolution 19-92 -A Resolution Authorizi ng the Iss uance of General Obligation Refunding Bonds of the City of Bristol, Tennessee in the Amount of $6,850,000 City Manager Sarah summarized Reso lution 19-92 authorizes the refunding of fi ve general ob ligati on bonds in the aggregate amount not to exceed $6,850,000 and was discussed at the prior work session. The proposed refunding is to take advantage of lower interest rates that were not avai lable when these bonds were originall y iss ued. It is estimated the City will receive a net present value benefit of approximately $ 13 1,000 in the aggregate over the next fi ve years. This has been reconunended by Cumberland Securities, Financial Adviso r to the City, and Mr. Scott Gibson is the advisor spec ific to the City. Mr. Gibson stated he presented this information to Council at their work session last week. The recommendation is to refinance three old series of bonds (one series is divided into three pieces) fo r a total of five pieces of debt from 2009, 20 11 , and 20 13 B. lt is a short transaction extending on ly five more years, but is $6.5 million resulting in an aggregate net savings to the City of over $130,000.  City Council Meeting September 3, 20 19 Page 6 of9 Councilman Turner clarified the refunding does not extend the length of the debt. The payoff ti mefram e will remain the same, but the refunding enables the City to take advantage of lower interest rates fo r the debt that were not avail able at the time the debt was incurred. Mr. Gibson co nfi rmed this is correct. Co unci lwoman Powers moti oned to approve the resolution and Councilman Tu rner seconded. Mayor Feierabend thanked Mr. Gibson for providing great service including his availab ility to meet with Council as needed. Mr. Gibson thanked her for the kind words. Councilwoman Powers commented that even though there may be criticism of doi ng studies and the due di Iigence done by Counci 1, she stressed the importance of seeking the advice of experts in the appropri ate fields. The in fo rmation obtained through these methods assist the Council in reducing the indebtedness of the City and is important in knowing where we are going. Since there was no further discussion a roll call vote was taken and the resolution passed unanimously. CONSENT AGENDA: City Manager Sorah presented the Consent Agend a to Council: • Minutes August 6, 2019 City Council Meeting • Minutes August 27, 201.9 City Co unci l Work Session • Reso lution 19-93 A Resolution Award ing a Bid fo r the Purchase of Water Meters and Strainers • Reso lution 19-94 A Resolution Awarding a Bid fo r Lakeview Drive Pump Station Improvements • Reso lution 19-95 A Resolution Authorizing Entry into an Engineering Services Agreement fo r Publi c Works Faci lity Prelim inary Engineering Report • Reso lution 19-96 A Reso luti on Authorizing Entry into a Lease Agreement with Jones Specialty Marketing, LLC Councilman Turner requested Reso lution 19-96 be removed from the Consent Agenda for discuss ion. Since there was no additional discussion or removal requests fo r the remaining items, Mayor Feierabend asked for a motion fo r approval of the Co nsent Agenda minus Resolution 19-96. Vice Mayor Luttrell made a motion and Councilman Keen seconded. The amended Consent Agenda passed unanimo usly by roll call vote. Mayor Feierabend stated when an item is pulled from the Consent Agenda the City Manager presents additional in formation to Co uncil for further discuss ion. Reso luti on 19-96 authori zes the City to enter into a lease agreement with Jones Specialty Marketing, LLC, fo r the use of fo ur parcels of pri vately owned property located between 6th Street and Bank Street. City Manager Sorah explained this resolution is in consideration of creating parking opportuniti es in the 6th Street area and this dialogue has been going on fo r some time pri or to the recent issue with 6' 11 Street. However, the recent situation created an opportunity to move forward with this proposed lease agreement. Currently there are twenty-  City Council Meeting September 3, 20 19 Page 7 of 9 four spaces but staff fee ls they may be abl e to configure it to twenty-six spaces. Of those spaces, eleven are already leased and those leases will co ntinue until they are terminated by the Ieasee. There will be an annual fee of $15,000.00, which is approx imately $ 1,25 0.00 per month, and will be partially offset by revenue from the eleven leased spaces. As to the balance of the spaces, part of them would be two- hour parking to help offset the loss of parking on 6 th Street. There are other co nversations taking pl ace concerning other private parking lots thro ughout the downtown area to fu rther enhance and better utilize the parking capacity. The information obtained through the downtown study indicated the parking problem was not a capacity issue, but a utilization issue. To the ex tent that the City can work with so me of the pri vate sector lots and better utilize them beyond the needs of the pri vate sector will help to serve everyone well. Councilman Turner stated he fe lt it was important to pull this from the agenda fo r further discuss ion so that everyone knows what is being done through this reso lution and help them see that the City is wo rking to provide more than the nine spaces that were removed from 6 th Street. He thanked all the staff fo r working to make this happen. Council woman Powers asked how many net spaces will result from this agreement. City Manager Sorah explained the cunent co nfigurati on has twenty-four spaces with eleven already leased and the City will honor those leases until they are terminated by the leasee. The balance of those spaces woul d be available fo r two-hour parking, resulting in about thirteen to fifteen additional spaces. Go ing fo rward the needs will be evaluated and there may be opportuni ties for addi tional monthly rentals. Mayor Feierabend sa id the opportunity fo r discuss ion and clarification is why an item is sometimes pulled from the Consent Agenda. She then asked if there was a motion to approve Reso lution 19-96. Councilman Turner motioned to approve the resoluti on and Councilwoman Powe rs seconded. The reso lution was approved unanimously by roll call vote. BOARD OF EDUCATION LIA lSON REPORT : Dr. Atmette Tudor, Interim Director of Schoo ls, mentioned students did not return to school today but the teachers returned fo r an in-se rvice day. All teachers participated in ACEs (Adverse Chil dhood Experiences) training today presented by Dr. Angela Prillhart, a professor from Milligan College. This was an overview and an explanation of the long term impacts on children of experiences such as physical and emoti onal abuse, substance abuse, di vorce, etc., including potential very long term health impacts, as well as their effects on students and thei r learning oppoti unities. Dr. Prillhart instructed teachers on possible ways they can be proactive and intervene in a positive manner in situati ons to help students deal with whatever they may be experiencing as well as trying to learn at schoo l. Thi s was a very positive training that will hopefully have a lasting impact. The schoo l district has established two partnerships thi s year. Coali tion fo r Kids, also known as C4K, has ex isted in Johnson City Public Schoo ls fo r about eighteen years. They entered into a partnership with Ballad Health and received a grant fo r approxi mately $50,000 to estab lish a pi lot program in another school district, so our school district has established a similar program at Anderson Elementary Sc hool with those funds. Thi s will provide additi onal after schoo l learning oppoti unities fo r students at Anderson as well as some summer learning opportunities whi ch may take place of the Read to be Ready summer grants that were lost at the state level. This would all ow fo r some type of summer reading programs fo r all the schools at the elementary leve l. It would also provide fo r some transportation which the current after schoo l program grant funding does not provide. The commitment of the district to this  City Council Meeting September 3, 20 19 Page 8 of 9 effort is the learning opportunities are hosted in the school fac ili ty and data is gathered for a researcher at ETSU who is studying the Johnson City model to see if thi s program can be successfully replicated in another school district. Secondly, a partnership has been estab li shed with Ball ad Health and Frontier Health in prov iding a mental hea lth partnership opportunity particul arly at Yance Middle Schoo l, Anderson Elementary, Fa irmount Elementary, and to so me extent at the alternati ves schoo l. There is a licensed social wo rker on-site at Yance Middle Schoo l for whi ch the di strict provides some funding, but most of which is provided by Ballad Hea lth and Frontier Health. Telemedici ne has been availabl e to all the schoo l nurses fo r some time that all ows them to co ntact a nurse practitioner or a physician virtually if that assistance is needed. Telehealth is now available through this partnership and provides counseling services or crisis management services if students are in need of crisis services in real time. In addition, there is now access to all the training that Ballad Health and Fronti er Health pro vide so schoo l staff can be equipped with things like ACEs or other opportunities to provide mental health services. The support that can be provided to students through these services will be very benefici al. C ITY MANAGER'S REPORT: City Manager Sarah expressed his appreciation to staff, specifically Police, Fire, Pub lic Wo rks, and Parks and Recreation fo r the long hours ex pended for the fall race events. The City was blessed to have the Food City Family Race Night back in Downtown Bristol and was as successful as it has ever been. The Truck Race on Thursday night, Xfinity Race on Friday ni ght, and the Cup Race on Saturday night had the best attendance in almost a decade. lt was an exciting time for Bristol, but an exhausting time fo r staff who need to rest up as the nineteenth annual Rhytlun & Roots Reunion is coming up September 20111 -22 11<l . He reminded Council of the Regional Economic Forum on September 10111 from 12:30 until 4:30 p.m. at the Millennium Center in Johnson City and encouraged everyone to attend. The next work sess ion will have a change in time to 11 :00 a. m. on September 24 111 in the Annex Co nference Room. Thi s is the last Council meeting with Terrie Ta lbert, Director of Community Relations. Her thirty-seven year career will be more forma ll y celebrated later in the month, but City Manager Sarah wanted to publicly express his appreciation fo r her effo rts and leadership throughout her entire career and wishes her the best in thi s next chapter of her life. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS : Mayor Feierabend acknowledged various members of the audience. Councilman Turner welcomed his daughter and her classmates in the honors government class from Tennessee High School that attended the Council meeting. Theatre Bristol will present The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf the next two weekends and he encouraged people to enj oy a performance. He is also looking forward to the upcoming Rhytlm1 & Roots Reun ion. Vice Mayor Luttrell spoke about being glad to have an opportunity to thank the Veterans and to be a part of the local associations that do the same. He thanked any fellow Veterans in attendance and thanked those that participated in the presentation of the Co lors earlier in the evening. Councilman Keen reiterated staff is in an on-going effort to study different aspects of the opportunities and the challenges in the downtown area and he looks forward to hearing more about their efforts. He sa id Terrie Talbert really knows what she is doing in Public Relations. When he came on the Council over six years ago, Terrie walked with him through vari ous challenges one of which is the City website.  City Council Meeti ng September 3, 20 19 Page 9 of 9 Some work had already taken place on that project and is an aspect that requires conti nual update, but the City has done a wo nderful job in showing what this co mmunity is really like to those outside the area. The websi te looks marvelous and continues to improve. He thanked Terri e for that as onl y one of many aspects such as the new branding, apps, along ,,vith numerous others that she helped bring about. One pai1icular thing she di d so we ll fo r him was to explain various aspects of the City and to teach peop le in the Community Relations Department and other Council members. All her efforts are greatly appreciated and she will be deepl y missed. Councilwoman Powers mentioned her grandson, soon to be five years old, is always excited to see the City equipment / vehicles / employees throughout the City. He recently had an opportunity to help two City employees hang the banners fo r Rh ythm & Roots in Anderson Park, which he loved every minute of, still talks about, and now wants to be a City wo rker when he grows up. The two City employees that worked with him took their time, let him see the City truck, and tal ked with him about what they do on a day-to-day basis. She thanked City Manager Sorah, Director of Development Services Ti m Beavers, and all the City staff fo r making that possible. She continued by sayi ng we can not thanki ng our Veterans enough. Council woman Powers also mentioned thi s is the 19111 year of Rhythm & Roots and Mayor Feierabend and Terrie Talbe11 are fo unding members of the event along with others in attendance such as Terry Napier. She mentio ned the raffle and referred anyone interested to check the Birthplace o f Country Music website for more in fo rmation. Counci l work session sometimes can be long and boring, but as a result the business meetings are usually efficient and smooth because everyone works so we ll together. Terrie Talbert has not on ly been a City staff member, but a very dear friend for many years. She too, has learned a lot from Terrie. The branding has been established under her guidance along wi th the directional signage, a fi lm office, and the list goes on. Some of the best marketi ng work in our region has come from the Community Relations Department. She thanked Terrie as a member of staff and as a friend and she looks forward to continuing to work with her in the future when possible. Mayor Fe ierabend thanked Dr. Tudor fo r the ACEs training and would like for City Council to do an introductory training to learn the new brain science and some of the challenges that some of our ch il dren and others in our community have and how we can respond differently. She has worked with Terri e Talbe11 a long time and she has always stepped up to challenge, fo ll owed through, carried on, and given more than what was even anticipated. Many things on her list were previously mentioned, but Viking Hall was a premier venue and many things happened in the community as well as the industry that coincided and it was reinvented. This resulted in the creation of the Depa11ment of Co mmunity Relations which has been invaluable, versatile, and ready to step up and provide numerous th ings. Terrie's talent and great creativity has taken the City to new levels including three website versions; estab lishment of television programming enabling the community to learn more about the City Council , City wo rk, and events; creation of videos for use in marketing and education; development of different events such as music downtown, Border Bash, Rhythm & Roots, along with many others. The Mayor requested all those present to stand and applaud Ms. Terrie Talbert. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8: 14 p.m. ~f~ Tara E. Musick, City Recorder