City Council

MI NUTES OF THE CITY O F BRISTOL, TENNESSEE CALLED CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 20, 2022 CALL TO ORDER: The C ity of Bristol, Tennessee Called City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Mahlon Luttrell on Tuesday. December 20, 2022, at 9:00 A.M. in the conference room at the Ewell L. Easley Annex. ROLL CALL: Present: Mayor Mah lon Luttrell , Vice Mayor Vince Turner, Counci lwoman Margaret Feierabend, Councilman Mark Hutton, and Councilwoman Lea Powers. Others Present: City Manager William Sorah, City Attorney Danielle Smith, City Recorder Mary Lee Williams, Director of Community Relations Jon Luttrell , Fire Chief Mike Carrier, Director of Economic Development Tom Anderson, and other members of City staff. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: A. Resolution : Resolution 22-1 43-A Resolution Authorizing Entry into a Settlement Agreement with 714 Shelby, GP City Manager Bill Sorah stated there has been a desire of City Council , assuming that they could not renegotiate new terms on a new project with 7 14 Shelby, GP, to exit the existing agreement in the most expeditious way possible. On September 7, 2022, City Attorney Danielle Smith released Legal Memorandum 22-23 , outlining three options for exiting the current development agreement with 7 14 Shelby, GP, developers of the 714 Shelby Project. These options include foreclosure on the property, sell the property to the developers, or exit the current development agreement with an appraisal of the property plus improvements on the property based on how many metrics the developers had met. As the City Attorney began to have conversations with the attorney for the developers, the Settlement Agreement proposed by Reso lution 22-143 was developed. Staff believes this is the most expeditious path forward . The City Manager summarized the resolution which authorizes a Settlement and Release Agreement with 7 14 Shelby, GP . The developers are in breach of the September 28, 2021 development agreement and are no longer able to advance the project under the terms of the agreement. The proposed settlement agreement would return ownership of the property to the Industrial Development Board (IDB) and allow alternative development opportunities to be considered for the site. As part of this settlement agreement, the C ity wi ll provide a one-time payment of $585 ,000 to the deve lopers. This payment represents compensation for the improvements of the property made by the developer including the construction of a parking lot as well as a building pad on the northern halfof the property. In exchange, the developers will convey the property to the IDB via a Special Warrant Deed and release all interest in the architectural plans, specifications, and drawings for the project. The developers desire to resolve this matter prior to the end of the calendar year.  Called C ity Council Meeting December 20, 2022 Page 2 of 2 Counci lman Mark Hutton motioned that action be tabled until after the first of the year in order to allow the City Council more time to consider all the options. Counci lwoman Lea Powers seconded. Councilwoman Margaret Fe ierabend, Counc ilman Mark Hutton, Counci lwoman Lea Powers, and Mayor Mahlon Luttrell voted in favor of the motion. Vice Mayor Vince Turner recused himself. This item will be on the January 2023 City Counc il Work Session for fo llow-up. Councilwoman Lea Powers requested City Counci l rev ise the allocation made to the Bri stol Tennessee City School system in the FY 2023 Budget Ordinance in order to restore the$ I 00,000 that was cut from the transfer the City made to the General Purpose School Fund. This relates to the funding for SROs that are now in all the schools despite the fact the school syste m did not receive the grant they applied for to cover this cost. Vice Mayor Turner asked for clarification if the grant was received for the SRO program. City Manager Sarah replied that the grant was not awarded. Mayor Mahlon Luttrell asked if the grant app lication could be submitted every year. The City Manager replied yes and reiterated that the SRO program for the current school year is already fu lly funded through other sources. There was additional discussion confirming the SRO program for the schools was fully funded and this $ 100,000 would be a one-time allocation to the Bristol Tennessee School System for capital projects. City Manager Sarah restated the wishes of City Co unci l to allocate the $100,000 to the Bristol Tennessee Schoo l System for capital projects. Staff will draft an Ordinance that amends Ordinance 22-7 to change the amount transferred from the General Fund to the General Purpose School Fund for Non Routine Capital Improvements from $250,000 to $350,000. This wi ll be on the January 2023 City Counci l Agenda and the City Manager will notify the Director of Schools. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9: 14 A .M.