Cleveland City Council

p. 239 REGULAR SESSION SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 3:00 P.M. MINUTE BOOK 28 BE IT REMEMBERED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE MET IN A REGULAR SESSION THIS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 AT 3:00 P.M. AT THE MUSEUM CENTER AT 5IVE POINTS. Present and presiding was Mayor Tom Rowland. Also present were Councilmen Charlie McKenzie, Avery Johnson, David May, Jr., Dale Hughes and Richard Banks. Vice Mayor George Poe and Councilman Bill Estes were absent from the meeting. Others in attendance according to the sign-in sheet were as follows: City Manager Joe Fivas; Assistant City Manager/Operations Melinda Carroll; Assistant City Manager/CFO Shawn McKay; City Attorney John Kimball; Sue Zius, Assistant to the Mayor/Legislative Liaison; Beverley Lindsey, Executive Secretary II; Fire Chief Ron Harrison; Jonathan Jobe, Director of Development and Engineering Services; Tommy Myers, Director of Public Works; Parks and Recreation Director Patti Petitt; Police Chief Mark Gibson; Kris Miller, IT Director; Brian Moran, Social Media; Kim Spence, Safety and Risk Manager; Larry Wallace; Richard Johnson; Bethany McCoy with Lee University; Doug Berry and Gary Farlow with the Chamber of Commerce; School Board Members Tom Cloud; Dawn Robertson and Charlie Cogdill; Hal Taylor; School Director Dr. Russell Dyer; Roger Jenne; Sherry Brown; Renee Whitman; Charlotte and Raymond Scott; Ron Wilkerson; John Parks; Brenda Hughes; Karen, Hillary and Buddy May; Jeff Miller; Allan Johnson; John Powell; Sandra Kay Williams; Benny Monroe; James Williams; Martha Powell; Martha Ledford; Gail Perry with the Chattanoogan.com; Joyanna Love with the Cleveland Daily Banner. Bradley Central High School ROTC presented the colors and following the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag led by Marine Kristan Murray and prayer by Dr. Mark Williams, the following business was then entered into: PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF ELECTION & ADMINISTRATION OF OATHS OF OFFICE Mayor Rowland stated the Honorable Judge Michael Sharp, Circuit Court Judge of Bradley County will administer the oath of office to each Council member. As each member prepares to take their oath Travis Henry from the Bradley County Election Commission will present their Certificates of Election. Judge Sharp reminisced to when he was first sworn in and how exciting it was for him and his family. He thought back to the amount of work it took to be elected and knows that each of you will thank their loved ones for helping them get to where they are today. He congratulated the families on this big day. Judge Sharp then administrated the Oath of Office to Councilman Tom Cassada. He then congratulated Councilman Cassada. Travis Henry with the Bradley County Election Commission then presented Councilman Cassada with his Certificate of Election. Judge Sharp then administrated the Oath of Office to Councilman Dale Hughes. He then congratulated Councilman Hughes. Travis Henry with the Bradley County Election Commission then presented Councilman Hughes with his Certificate of Election. Judge Sharp then administrated the Oath of Office to At-Large Councilman Avery Johnson. He then congratulated Councilman Johnson. Travis Henry with the Bradley County Election Commission then presented Councilman Johnson with his Certificate of Election. Judge Sharp then administrated the Oath of Office to Councilman David May. He then congratulated Councilman May. Travis Henry with the Bradley County Election Commission then presented Councilman May with his Certificate of Election. p. 240 REGULAR SESSION SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 PAGE -2- MINUTE BOOK 28 WAIVE READING OF MINUTES Councilman Johnson moved that the City Council of the City of Cleveland waive the reading of the minutes of the Regular Session of the City Council held on August 22, 2016 and approve them as written. The motion was seconded by Councilman May; and upon roll call, the motion unanimously passed. Councilman Hughes moved to reappoint Barrett Painter as Municipal Court Judge for an additional 2-year term to expire September 2018. The motion was seconded by Councilman Banks and upon roll call, unanimously passed. Mayor Rowland stated the Oath of Office to Judge Painter will be administered on September 26. Mayor Rowland then asked if any of the Councilmembers who were just sworn in would like to speak. Councilman Cassada thanked his family and everyone for supporting him during the election for the 3rd District. He looks forward to serving the citizens of Cleveland. He has an open door and can be reached by phone or email. If anyone has any concerns or questions please feel free to contact him. Councilman Hughes stated it is an honor to accept another four years from District 5. He appreciates the opportunity to serve and the people for allowing him to do so. There are several things he sees need to be done in the next four years. His top priority is Highway 60. He would like for the City Council, Mayor, State Representatives, Senator Gardenhire and Senator Bell to try to influence TDOT to move the project up in the chain. All of you have traveled Highway 60, especially in the morning. It is a bottleneck. Cleveland Middle School has great difficulty in the mornings, getting the students dropped off and again in the afternoon, picking the students up. He would like to see the project start much sooner. Secondly, he would like to have a better relationship with Bradley County. The things that we can work together on we need to be doing just that. There is no reason for us to have an aloof attitude, as it relates to working with the County. He trusts in the future we will be able to work with the County on matters both of us can work together for our community. He feels the constituents expect it and want us to do just that. It is our job to make it happen. We are working on tennis courts to enhance our Parks, which he believes will come to fruition in the next few months. One of his goals is that the Police and Fire Departments be fully manned and have state of the art equipment for our protection and for their protection. He trusts it will come to pass. We have excellent Assistant Managers in Melinda Carroll and Shawn McKay. They have worked together, one in Finance and one in Operations in a marvelous fashion. They both have been excellent and he appreciates their ability to work together. We have a new City Manager, Joe Fivas. We are looking forward to working with Mr. Fivas. We have been pleased with what he has projected in the next 100 days as well as a strategic plan for the future. Councilman Hughes then recognized Larry Wallace and thanked him for his dedicated help with the Police and Fire Departments and hiring a new City Manager. He continued to thank Mayor Rowland for his service and was happy to hear he was running in 2018. The Mayor has energy and is there for every function. We are grateful for him and that he is running again in 2018. In closing, we have many great Department Heads, the best we’ve ever had. Everyone does a marvelous job and looks forward to working with the Mayor and Department Heads in the next four years. He then thanked his family, particularly his wife Brenda, Richey, Stephanie and his granddaughters for their support during the election. He also recognized Paul and Tannis Duncan, Bill and Karen Winters, Dr. Beard and wife Judy for the part they played in his re-election. He thanked his Pastor Mark Williams for his support. He is looking forward to four more years serving the wonderful City of Cleveland. Councilman Johnson stated he is happy to be elected to the City Council At-Large member and thanked everyone for attending today’s meeting. He is appreciative for all the votes he received during the election and is happy to represent all the citizens of Cleveland. He continued there should be transparency and no hidden agendas. As a leader in government, p. 241 REGULAR SESSION SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 PAGE -3- MINUTE BOOK 28 everything we do needs to be above board no back room deals, no back room politics. The public deserves to know everything we do. We have a duty to keep them informed. We serve the citizens and not ourselves. In his opinion, we need to publish an agenda in the local newspaper by Wednesday or Thursday of week proceeding our meeting. We have a great City Manager. He is getting off to a great start and the discussions have been great so far. The City Manager doesn’t need to be micro-managed. We need to support Mr. Fivas and not interfere. He continued we need to develop a three to ten year strategic plan to address the needs of the community. He feels the best way to accomplish this is with community involvement. There should be community town hall meetings in each districts to hear their needs. After all the meetings, the Council, Department Heads and City Manager would then prioritize the needs over a three to ten year period for our strategic plan. Council, with the help of citizens, the State and the Federal government will develop a way to fund all the issues. We realize it’s not going to be easy. But we have been successful and the citizens of Cleveland have been supportive. We were able to do what we have done this year because the citizens approved, by referendum, an increase in the sales tax. We need to work on streets and traffic, educational needs, public safety, police protection, fire protection, downtown revitalization, parking needs, acquisition of property to meet growing needs. All these needs should be discussed and prioritized. The reconciliation with the Council and the County Commission is very valuable in our community. Together we can accomplish a whole lot and get things done quicker and better. Everyone will benefit. A lot of the disagreements have been over funding. We are growing so fast and improving so much that we are going to have to get back to those tables and have the city and county come together. Together, we can make a big difference. He continued that he is looking forward to the next four years and appreciates everyone who has helped him along the way. Councilman May stated it has been twenty years since he was first elected. We live in a great community and has been fortunate to be a small part of the City Council who have done great things for Cleveland. He feels people won’t fully realize what we’ve completed and done until years have passed and they will see we have a modern airport that seemed almost impossible to build. He then thanked his family and stated they are the best family anyone could have. His wife has put up with him a very long time. A son and daughter in-law that he couldn’t ask for better. His sister, Gail. Family friends that he is fortunate to have. We have important things to do the next four years. We have to find ways to pay for projects without killing the taxpayers. He continued he feels very fortunate to work with this group of men and they can work together. He has always said when they go into the Council Chambers they need to be friends and we need to vote your convictions and be friends when we leave. It is extremely important. As Judge Sharp said, when you enter into politics, family is so important. When you make a decision, you can’t please everybody. We have tough skin and know how to cope but family doesn’t. With the city employees, he doesn’t think we could have a better group of people. From the guys driving the trucks to the Department Heads, it is extremely satisfying what they have done and can do. We have professional people and many have come a long way over the years. Again, he appreciates the people who have back him over the years and feels extremely fortunate to be in this position. Mayor Rowland congratulated everyone, thanked Judge Sharp and Mr. Henry and all those involved. There being no future business the meeting was adjourned at 3:39 p.m. _________________________________ ______________________________ Mayor City Clerk