City Council

MINUTES OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL, TENNESS EE CITY COUNCIL MEETING Janua ry 10, 2023 CALL TO ORDER: The City of Bristol, Tennessee City Council meeti ng was called to order by Mayor Mahl on Luttrell on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 7:00 P.M. in the Slater Center Auditorium. OATH OF O FFICE: Mary Lee Williams, City Recorder. administered the oath of office to each of the re-elected Council members: Margaret Feierabend, Lea Powers, and Mark Hutton. ROLL CALL: Present: Mayor Mahlon Luttrell. Vice Mayor Vince Turner, Councilwoman Margaret Feierabend, Counci lman Mark Hutton, and Councilwoman Lea Powers. Others Present: City Manager William Sorah, City Attorney Dan ielle Smith, City Recorder Mary Lee Williams, Director of Planni ng Cherith Young, Director of Parks and Recreation Terry Napier. Fire Chief Mike Carrier, Director of Economic Development Tom Anderson, Di rector of Community Relations Jon Luttrell, Director of Finance Holl ie Verran, Senior Director of IT Shane Varney, Director of Publi c Services Wes Ritchie, Police Captain Danielle Eller, Community Development Specialist Christi na Blevins. Director of Utility Services Will Witcher, and other members of City staff. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALL EG IANCE: Fire Chief Mike Carrier gave the invocation and Mayor Mahl on Luttrell led the pledge of a llegiance. SELECTIO N OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR: Mayor Luttrell explained the City Charter requires Council to select members to serve as Mayor and Vice Mayor each year at the fi rst meeting in January. Mayor Luttrell asked for a motion for nomination of a Council member to serve as Mayor for the coming year. Councilwoman Lea Powers made a motion to nominate Vince Turner to serve as Mayor. Councilman Mark Hutton seconded the motion. Councilwoman Powers thanked Mahlon Luttrell for servi ng as Mayor over the last two years. It is a ful l-time job and he has served the community well. She thanked him for his service, leadership, and involvement throughout the region. The motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Counci lwoman Powers made a motion to nominate Councilman Mark Hutton as Vice Mayor. Mayor Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Mayor T urner stated it is an honor and privilege to serve on Counci l and Mahlon Luttrell served as mayor with distinction over the last two and a half years. He is honored to have the opportunity to serve with each of the Council members and appreciates their support. He expressed appreciation to his immediate family, parents, and friends for supporting him as he endeavors to serve the community. A brief recess was taken for a reception to congratulate the Counci l members who were re-elected and recognize the new Mayor and Vice Mayor. The meeting was cal led back to order by Mayor Turner at approximately 7:28 P.M.  City Council Meeting January I 0, 2023 Page 2 of 8 AGENDA ADDIT IONS AND / OR CHANGES: None PROC LAMATIONS AND RECOGN ITIONS: Human Trafficking Awareness Month / Day - Counci lwoman Margaret Feierabend read a proclamation designating January 2023 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month and January 11th as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Ms. Gabi Smith, Community Care Liaison for the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking (CCAHT) was in attendance to accept the proclamation. Ms. Smith gave information about human trafficking in the area and listed some of the organizations they train to recognize and respond to the needs of those affected by this crime. She encouraged people to contact CCAHT and join the fight to help end human trafficking in our community. Certified Municipal Judge - Municipal Court Judge A.O. Jones was recently recogni zed by the National Judicial College as one of the first th irty-seven municipal judges in the United States to have been awarded a Certificate of Judicial Development as a Certified Municipal Judge. This certification is the culmination of a five-year pilot program offered by the National Judicial College (NJC) and administered through the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference and the Administrative Offices of the Courts. J udge Jones stated he has been honored to serve the City of Bristo l as Municipal Judge for the last eight and a half years. He expressed his job has been easier due to the support of wonderful staff and their outstanding work efforts, specifically acknowledging City Attorney Danielle Smith, Assistant City Attorney Cari Seaton, Municipal Court Clerk Kristi Hensley, Security Officer Mark Millard and the Poli ce Department. Judge Jones gave some in formation on the program in whi ch he participated. It was started by the NJC to provide additional educational opportunities for municipal judges throughout the country and Tennessee was chosen as one of the first states to offer this five-year program. Judge Jones was honored to be able to obtain this certification which will assist him as he continues to serve the citizens of the community. Certificate of Achievement fo r Excellence in Financial Reporting - Mayor Turner presented a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (COA) from the Government Finance Officers Association for the fi scal year ended June 30, 2021 to Ho llie Verran, Director of Finance. This is the nineteenth consecutive year the City of Bristol, Tennessee has recei ved th is award. Ms. Yerran explained to be eligible to receive this award included providing additional informati on and documents beyond the req uired normal financial information and represents a lot of effort by the Finance Department. She thanked the finance staff for their hard work, the cooperation of all the other City departments, and the support and recognition by the City Manager and City Council. PRESENTATIONS: FY 2021 Annu al Comp rehensive Financia l Report (ACFR) - Billy Robinson, Partner, and David Elkins, Senior Manager, from Brown Edwards & Company, LLC, were in attendance to present the ACFR. Mr. Robinson thanked the City for the opportunity to provide this service and they look forward to being able to working with the City in the future . Mr. Elkins gave a bri ef overview of the FY 2022 City external audit. He began the presentation by pointing out that out of all the government entities they audit on ly about ten to fifteen percent participate in the COA program. The fact that Bristol has not only participated, but received the award for nineteen consecutive years is a huge accomplishment and he acknowledged the efforts by Finance Director Hollie Yerran and staff. The 2022 report has been submitted to the Government Finance Officers Association and he anticipates the award will be received next year as well.  City Council Meeting January I 0, 2023 Page 3 of 8 There is a new format required for the independent auditors report so this one looks a little different from prior years. The firm has issued an unmodified opinion which is a clean opinion and Mr. Elkins explained what that included. An additional paragraph was necessary for a new standard this year for leases that are considered operating leases. He encouraged Council to read through the Management Discussion Analysis as it gives the best picture with comparisons to prior years and gives a lot of the highlights. He listed several items and their associated page locations. Mr. Elkins mentioned the revenues came in over what was budgeted by approxi mately $3.5 million, the bulk of which is attributable to an increase in the local sales tax. The expenses came in slightly over budget which is mainly due to the accounting treatment of the lease standard . If you ignore the change precipitated by the new lease standard, ex penses were basically on budget. Total fund balance for the General Fund was slightly over $21.2 million. A little over $1 8.7 million was unassigned, which represents about seven and a hat f months of operating expenditures based on the normal operating expenditures. This is a healthy fund balance and shows the Ci ty is in a very healthy place financially. He mentioned the bulk of this document are the notes to the financial statements. T he independent auditors report on internal control shows there were no findings so no adj ustments were made as result of audit procedures. The other report is the independent auditors report on compliance which is related to the federal grants received. There was one find ing reported related to the federal grant process. Each year, the City is required to file an in-depth data co llection form with the federal government. It was fi led last year, but the guidance says it must be fil ed within thirty days of the issuance of the audit report and it was a coupl e of days late due to some miscommunication with the previous auditor. It was filed and there were no issues, but the federal government has cracked down on the filing times and thus, necessitated a finding. As of June 30, 2022 the City had total federal expenditures just shy of $ 16.7 million which was much larger than usual and are attributed to the ARP Act and funds flowing through the schools such as ESSER. There is a correction plan already established to address the one find ing. Mr. Elkins thanked Hollie, staff, the City, and Tara Musick with the school system as this is a huge document and requires lots of information and numerous hours from everyone involved. Mr. Elkins mentioned there are two other reports the auditors must prepare, the Required Communi cation with those Charged with Governance, which states the auditors did not encounter any difficulty in obtaining information in preparation of the audit. The other document is the Comments on Internal Control. Thi s is basically a list of comments and suggestions w ith a good portion referring to IT, some of which were already being addressed by the City. BOARD OF EDUCATION LIAISON REPORT: Director of Schools Dr. Annette Tudor congratulated Mayor Turner and Vice Mayor Mark Hutton on their appointments and the Council members that were re-elected. She thanked Councilman Luttrell for his service and leadership during his tenure as mayor. She also thanked Counci l for consideration later on the agenda to provide additional funds to the school system thi s budget year. Dr. Tudor mentioned several recent events including the Lady Vikings Holiday Hoops Tournament and the 39th Arby ' s Classic which brought numerous visitors to the area and she heard many favorable comments about the area and accommodations. Several throughout the region suffered ill-effects of the extreme co ld temperatures over the holidays including the school system . Flooding occurred in the CTE wing and there were issues with the mai ntenance building, Haynesfield Elementary, and the middle school. T here were eleven students from Bristol Tennessee High School that qualified fo r the Tennessee All-State Honor Choir which was the most from any school across the state. School Board Appreciati on Week is January 22- 28 and two new members will be sworn in on Monday, January 16th_ There will be no school on January 161h in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.  City Council Meeting January 10, 2023 Page 4 of 8 Vice Mayor Hutton asked about the legislation concerning third grade readi ng retention. Since it is a law it will have to be enforced , but what does that mean fac ility-wise across the school system. Dr. Tudor replied it is detrimental most of all to the students. That timefran1e is terrible as the better time to retain students is in kindergarten or first grade, if it is necessary. Research shows that anything beyond that is not effective and in general , retention is not effective. She feels the intent of the law is good, but the flaw is to base retention on the result of a single test. Intervention is key and summer schoo l is vital. State funding for K-2 summer school is no longer available, but is available for fourth through eighth grades. Th is makes summer school reactionary instead of preventing the problem. Parents of third graders have already received letters about the issue. She hopes the next legislation will bring about some changes such as basing retention on multiple pieces of data instead of one test and to have collaborative conversations with teachers and parents as they know those children best and should be able to tell admini stration whether retention would be helpful for that particular student. She is hopeful different pathways wi ll be developed to he lp the students move forward . PUBLIC HEARINGS: Ordinance 22-19 - An Ordinance to Amend the Zoning Ordinance to Define Local and Long- distance Transportation Terminals and to Designate the Zones Where Such Terminals are Permitted The City Manager reviewed that Council approved thi s ordinance on first reading at the December 6, 2022 meeting with the public hearing and second reading on the agenda this evening. Over the past several months, the Planning Commission has reviewed uses permitted by right in the C ity' s business di stricts. During their November 2 151 meeting, the Planning Commi ssion recommended Council consider removing bus terminals from the commercial districts as well as defining bus terminal s such as local transit versus long-distance terminals. The proposed amendment separates these two types by definition and also prohibits long-distance transportation centers in commercial districts and limits their ability as a use by right in an M-1 or industrial district. The City Manager asked Cheri th Young, Director of Planning and Community Development, to provide additional information. Ms. Young stated the ordinance amends Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 of the zoning ordinance. Chapter 2 deal s with definitions and the proposed amendment will add the definitions of a local transportation terminal and of a long-di stance transportation terminal and she provided additional information on both terms. Ms. Young presented slides detailing the zones where each type of terminals are permitted and the proposed changes. Currently, long-di stance transportation terminals are permitted as a use by right within the B-2. The zoning text amendment would amend the zoning such that long-distance transportation terminals would not be perm itted in any of the commercial di stricts and be permitted only in a manufacturing district. The recommendation further identifies local transportation terminals by definition and continues to allow their existence in the B-2 district only. There were no comments and the public hearing was closed. APPEARANCE OF CITIZENS: Mr. George Linke, 307 Rutledge Street, wanted to update everyone about the progress being made by the skate park advocates working with the Tony Hawk Foundation. Yesterday, the group applied for the maximum amount from the private grant. A determinati on should be made during the next quarter. Any funds received would be channeled through Believe In Bristol to help support the overall project of the new skate park. T hrough the endeavors of the skate group, connections are being made throughout the  City Council Meeting January 10, 2023 Page 5 of 8 community and beyond. In November, the group hosted Jereme Rogers. pro rider for skate boards, who flew in from Boston for the skate park benefit concert. He loved Bristol and began asking about real estate. He maintains connections with local young skate boarders and encourages them to pursue the sport. Jake Wooten, who currently rides fo r Santa Cruise and Red Bull, will come to Bristo l in the next couple of months for another benefit hosted by the skate group. Mr. Linke encouraged Council to attend some of these events and meet the commun ity and these guests. Skate Bristol encourages the visiting guests to enjoy Bristol while they are here. Over the past year, the group has given away thirty-seven free helmets to skateboarders thirteen and younger, and twenty-seven free skateboards with the help of Mike Vallely of Street Plant® Skateboards. Mr. Vallely is following the local group with great interest. These skateboards are for chil dren from low-income and single-parent households. Mr. Linke thanked everyone for their support. APPOINTMENTS: Beer Board - City Council addressed the vacancy of one seat on the Beer Board. Mayor Turner spoke on behalf of the candidate. Mr. Michael Schmidt was unanimously appointed to the Beer Board to serve an unexpired term of office ending January 31, 2024. Industrial Development Board - City Council addressed the vacancy of two seats on the Industrial Development Board. The candidate receiving the most votes will fill the term ending August 31 , 2026 and the candidate receiving the next highest num ber of votes will fill the term ending August 3 1, 2024 . Councilwoman Feierabend menti oned it was ni ce to have so many applicants and such diversity. She spoke on behalf of Carolyn Ferrell. The vote was as follows: Councilwoman Feierabend Carolyn Ferrell Councilman Powers Lynn Dougherty and Bart McMillin Vice Mayor Hutton Lynn Dougherty and Wallace Elliott Mayor Turner Lynn Dougherty and Wallace Elliott Councilman Luttrell Lynn Dougherty and Wallace Elliott Mr. Lynn Dougherty received four votes and was appointed to the Industrial Development Board to serve an unexpired term ending August 3 1, 2026. Mr. Wallace Ell iott received three votes and was appointed to serve an unexpired term ending August 31, 2024. Councilwoman Powers thanked everyone who applied and encouraged them to continue to apply to serve on the boards and commissions as openings become available. Library Board - City Council addressed the vacancy of one seat on the Library Board. Councilwoman Feierabend spoke on behalf of the candidate. Mr. Ted Black, Jr. , was unanimously appointed to the Library Board to serve a term of office ending December 31 , 2025. Power Board - City Council addressed the vacancy of one seat on the Power Board. Councilwoman Powers and Counci lwoman Feierabend each spoke of behalf of John Vann. Mr. John Vann was unanimously appointed to the Power Board to serve an unexpired term of office ending June 30, 2025.  C ity Council Meeting January I 0, 2023 Page 6 of 8 ORDINANCES AND RESOLUT IONS: A. First Reading of New Ordinances: Ordinance 23-1 - An Ordinance to Amend the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget City Manager Sorah summarized that at the December 201h called meeti ng of C ity Council, staff was requested to prepare an amendment to the Fiscal 2023 budget that would provide an additional $100,000 of non-recurring funds to the school system. The funds were to be provided as a one-time contribution and not subject to the annual Maintenance of Effort formu la. Ordinance 23- 1 amends the Fiscal 2023 budget by adding $ 100,000 to the General Purpose School Fund for non-routine capital improvements. The Fiscal 2023 budget was originall y adopted with an appropriation of $250,000 for schoo l system capi ta l improvements. The amendment would establish a total Fiscal 2023 appropriation of $35 0,000 for non-routine capital improvements in the school system . If Ordinance 23- 1 is approved on first reading, a publ ic hearing and second reading will be scheduled fo r the February 7th meeting. Councilwoman Powers motioned to approve and Counci lman Luttrell seconded. Ordinance 23-1 was unanimously approved by roll call vote. 8. Adoption of New Ordinances (Second Reading): Ordinance 22-19 - An Ordinance to Amend the Zoning Ordinance to Define Local and Long- distance Transportation Terminals and to Designate the Zones Where Such Terminals are Permitted This item was summari zed during the public heari ng earlier thi s evening. Councilman Luttrell motioned to approve and Vice Mayor Hutton seconded . Counc ilwoman Powers mentioned their older son li ves in a different city and when they visited, it was well maintained and aestheticaJly beautiful. She asked her son how that was accompli shed by their city. He replied it was accomplished through the areas of planning and zoning over a period of years. She acknowledged the outstanding job done by the Planning Department and Planning Commission of the City of Bristol, Tennessee for the past several years. While there is room for improvement, we are working hard to be the best. She expressed appreciation to the Planning Commission and Planni ng staff for working so hard to shape Bristol. Councilwoman Feierabend supports the ordinance at thi s time, but hopes for the development of a middle zone, maybe something such as a 8-4. Consideration of this and other zoning text amendments has come about due to the list of perm itted uses in some areas which do not fit the area well. As result, permitted uses have been reviewed to see if anything needs to be changed. In that process, she fee ls an in-between zone may need to be added . Ordinance 22-19 passed unanimously by ro ll call vote. C. Resolutions: None  C ity Council Meeti ng January I 0, 2023 Page 7 o f 8 CONSENT AGENDA: City Manager Sarah presented the Consent Agenda to Co uncil. Councilwoman Feierabend motioned to approve and Councilman Luttrell seconded . The following items were approved by unanimous Council roll call vote : • Minutes December 6, 2022 City Counc il Meeting • Mi nutes December 13, 2022 City Council Work Session • Minutes December 20, 2022 City Council Called Meeting • Resolution 23 -1 A Resolution Amending Professional Services Agreement with Lose Design for Conceptual Plans for Active Recreatio nal Area • Reso lution 23 -2 A Resolution Awarding Bid for Roof Replacement for Ewell Easley City Hall A nnex Facility • Resolutio n 23 -3 A Resolutio n Authorizing Entry into a Materials Agreement with A rdent Development Group. LLC • Resolution 23-4 A Resolution Approving the Reall ocatio n of Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Funds (Ro und 1 and 3) • Resolution 23-5 A Reso lution Authori zing Payment to Troutman Pepper Hamilto n Sanders LLP fo r Legal Fees • Reso lutio n 23 -6 A Resolution Authorizi ng Purchase of Annual Maintenance Fee for Fire Department Reporting Software • Resolutio n 23 -7 A Resoluti on A utho rizing Cyber Security Insurance Renewal • Resoluti on 23 -8 A Resolutio n Authorizing the Purchase of a New Pickup T ruck for Po lice Department - Animal Control • Reso lution 23 -9 A Resoluti on Authorizing the Emergency Repai r of Fire Department Rescue 2 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: City Manager Sarah reminded Council of upcoming events beginning with the Annual C hamber Awards Luncheon at 11 :30 A. M. on January 20th at the Delta by Marriott at Ex it 7. On Monday, January 2Yd at 9:00 A.M. there is a called work session in the annex conference room to meet with the consultant from SGR to review the responses of the short-listed candidates for city manager. Tuesday, January 24 1h at 5:00 P.M. in the annex conference room is the monthly work session and Friday, January 27th at 8:00 A. M. at The Summit is the annuaJ Legislati ve Breakfast. On behal f of City staff, he congratul ated new Mayor Turner and Vice Mayor Hutton on the ir appointments this evening and expressed appreciation to Mayor Luttrell fo r his service to the City and the community for over a two-year term. Most people do not realize the amo unt o f time it takes to serve in that ro le. There are a number of boards o utside of this  City Council Meeting January I 0, 2023 Page 8 of 8 organization on wh ich the mayor serves all across northeast Tennessee which increases the volume of meetings requiring their attendance during the course of a single month. In addition, he thanked Mayor Luttrell for hi s support of City staff throughout the last two years. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS: Counc ilwoman Feierabend mentioned that everyone needs to advocate to the legislators about the new reading retention law and the state needs to step up with funding. She mentioned there are several area events schedu led for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and gave information on how to find details for the events. Thi s past month, there was a recogniti on event for Brenda Dunn who has worked fo r our library for fifty years. She read a thank you note from Ms. Dunn for the proclamation in her honor. Councilwoman Feierabend congratulated Mayor Turner and Vice Mayor Hutton and expressed appreciation to Mayor Luttrell. She has served as mayor several times and knows the time commitment has increased since her last term. Her term as mayor ended shortly a fter the pandemi c began and she acknowledged the uncertainty and challenges presented by issues such as COV ID and the Bristol Virgi ni a Landfil l. She thanked him for his leadership and for communicati ng well with Council. Counci lwoman Powers expressed appreciation to Mayor Luttrell for his service and for the suppo.rt of hi s fam ily. She congratulated Mayor Turner and Vice Mayor Hutton and said the Council is there to support them. Councilman Luttrell believes ' service before self is one of the best practices that everyone can and should do. It continues to be an honor and pri vilege to serve the citizens of Bristol , Tennessee and all of the wonderful City employees. He looks forward to many more days. T he Council has one of the most important tasks in front of them: Hiring the next city manager for Bristol, Tennessee. City Manager Sorah has been a rock in the community. His knowledge of local government and all the processes have been extremely important to everyone and he extended a personal thank you to the City Manager for his service. The City Counci l is strong, professional and caring, and works well together. There are challenges ahead and Counci l is ready. He expressed his appreciation to his wife, sons, and daughter- in-law for their continued support without which it would be difficul t. Vice Mayor Hutton appreciates the support of Council and he looks forward to being able to serve the citizens in this capacity. He and Mayor T urner graduated from Tennessee High together. There are challenges ahead with the landfill issues and finding someone to fill the big shoes of the current City Manager. He acknowledged the attendance of County Commissioner David Akard. Mayor T urner thanked Councilman Luttrell for his service as mayor over the last two and a half years. He thanked Council for their support in appointing him as the new mayor. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:34 P.M. ~ v· T _ _M _ _ _ __ mce urner, ayor