City Council

MINUTES OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL, TENNESSEE CALLED CITY COUNCIL MEETING February 22, 2022 CALL TO ORDER: T he Ci ty of Bristol , Tennessee Call ed C ity Council meeti ng was brought to order by Mayor Mahlon Luttrell on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 3:01 P.M. in the conference room at the Ewell L. Easley Annex. ROLL CALL: Present: Mayor Mahlon Luttrell, Vice Mayor Vince Turner, Councilwoman Margaret Feierabend, and Counci lwoman Lea Powers. Others Present: City Manager William Sorah, City Attorney Danielle Sm ith , City Recorder Mary Lee Williams, Director of Development Services Tim Beavers, Director of Community Relations Jon Luttrell, Director of Parks and Recreation Terry Napier, Fire Chief Mike Carrier, and other members of Ci ty staff. CANDIDATE SELECTION: Mayor Mahl on Luttrell stated the purpose of this called meeting is to discuss and select a candidate to fill the vacant seat on C ity Council. There are three candidates interested: Dr. Barry Hopper, Mr. Logan McCabe, and Dr. Mark Hutton Counci lwoman Margaret Feierabend wanted to begin by stating it is a big deal to step up to a position such as this. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of time and she thanked everyone. She has spoken with all three candidates. Councilwoman Lea Powers asked City Manager Bill Sorah to review what we are facing m the community prior to the next election that the selected candidate will be expected to work with. The City Manager reviewed the responsibility of the current Council today. Since there is a vacancy, the current Council members have thirty days to appoint a new member and he then listed the cri teria for applicants. Since Chad Keen was the representative for the East Councilmanic District the candidate must also be from the East Councilmanic District. Otherwi se, there is little guidance in the City Charter for the replacement process except the selection must be by Council vote and if there is a tie vote, the mayor will break the tie. The person selected today will take the oath of office at the beginning of the March g th Council meeting and participate in the balance of the meeting. As to the items facing Council going forward , the most important policy decision that a Council makes is the adoption of an annual budget. While some budget discussion has taken place, there will be more work session discussion and the selected candidate will be immersed in the budget process. There is the issue with the Ci ty of Bristol , Vi rgin ia that has got to be resolved and the new member will be involved in all future meetings. They will serve until the next municipal e lection which is the second Tuesday in November 2022. Whoever wins that election will take the oath of office at the first business meeting in January 2023 . It is an exciting time to join Counci l coming into budget season which, for our City, includes developing a p lan of work that is tied back to the budget. Council also approves the five-year capital improvement plan.  Called C ity Counci l Meeting February 22, 2022 Page 2 of 2 Vice Mayor Vince Turner expressed his appreciation to everyone. He has put a lot of thought and time into his decision. All three have great qualities and it was a di ffic ult decision. He based his decision on what is coming up, the budget, someone who has worked with a budget, and someone that has already been elected by the citizens of Bristol in another capacity. Considering these points that will cover the next eight months, his choice is Dr. Mark Hutton. The City Manager said there has to be a vote, but how to do so is up to City Counci l. Counci lwoman Powers requested Council comments take place first and then nominations. Counci lwoman Feierabend mentioned that she was appointed to Council the first time. It is a big learning curve. Since then she has seen people serve on Counci l without experience in any kind of public role. Many say that governm ent and non-profits should act like businesses, but there is a huge difference as the goal of business is to make a profit and the goal of government is to provide services including safety and infrastructure. There are public meeting Jaws which can be difficult to get used to. T he timing is very short for the appointee to determine whether to be a cand idate in the upcoming fall election. She would also support Mark Hutton since he has government experience, but expressed concern in losing him from the Sullivan County Commission as he has provided great support as a Bristol Representative. Counci lwoman Powers has also thought about all of these points as has everyone else. How blessed we are to have three extremely qualified, passionate people as candidates. She commented on some of the qualifications of all three and mentioned whoever is appointed will be up for election this fall. For the short term she would support Mark Hutton as well. She thanked Dr. Hopper and Mr. McCabe for the work and community support they both provide in their current roles. Mayor Mahlon Luttrell stated they are all three great candidates and bring a lot to the table. It is really good to see the community interest fo r this position. Being a Council member can sometimes be very tough and challenging. It is very critical at this particular point in time to have someone with a lot of experience in governmental work so hi s opinion is that Mark Hutton would be the candidate of choice. Vice Mayor Vince Turner motioned to appoint Dr. Mark Hutton to fill the East Councilmanic District seat and Mayor Luttrell seconded . There was no further di scussion and Dr. Hutton was unanimously appointed to serve on Council by roll call vote. City Manager Sorah said he would notify Dr. Hutton in a few moments and he would be included in the attorney / client meeting tomorrow morning. Prior to taking the oath of office at the March 8th Council meeting, he will need to resign from the Sullivan County Commission. Dr. Hopper thanked Council for the opportunity to be considered for appointment and extolled Council for the manner in which the meeting was conducted and the plans being put forth to improve the life of the community. It is commendable that the C ity has a reputation of managing funds wel l and he offered his support to Counci l and the community. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3: 14 P.M. /}1~~ 'iY}_OU/ Xu 'lu~ .:-~ Mary Lee Will iams, City Recorder Mahlon Luttrell , Mayor