Cleveland City Council

p. 408 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 3:00 P.M. MINUTE BOOK 29 BE IT REMEMBERED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE MET IN A REGULAR SESSION THIS MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 AT 3:00 P.M. AT THEIR REGULAR MEETING PLACE IN THE CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL BUILDING. Present and presiding was Mayor Kevin Brooks. Also present were Vice Mayor Avery Johnson, Councilmen Charlie McKenzie, Bill Estes, Tom Cassada, David May, Jr., Dale Hughes and Ken Webb. Others in attendance according to the sign-in sheet were as follows: City Manager Joe Fivas; Assistant City Manager/CFO Shawn McKay; Assistant City Manager/Operations Melinda Carroll; City Attorney John Kimball; Christy Brandon, Support Services Manager; Jonathan Jobe, Director of Development and Engineering; Tommy Myers, Public Works Director; Police Chief Mark Gibson; Mark Fidler, Jetport Director; Kim Spence, Human Resource Director; Patti Petitt, Director of Parks and Recreation; Fire Chief Ron Harrison; Kris Miller, IT Director; Sue Zius, Assistant to the Mayor/Legislative Liaison; Brian Moran, Social Media Coordinator; Gary Farlow with the Chamber of Commerce; Tad Bacon with Cleveland Utilities; Bethany McCoy with Lee University; Sharon Marr with Mainstreet; Jake Stum; Dustin Tommey; Demetris Ramsey; Gary Runyan; Sauron Patel; George McCoin; Jim Metzer; Delia Kramer; Janice Matthews; Lawrence Fain; Paul Matthews; Joe Sharp; Ron Williams; John Parks; Rudra Patel; Sural Patel; Raj Patel; Rupin Shah; Falindi Shah; Amish Shah; Arjun Patel; Angela Borgogna; Rakesh Chaudhari; Jim Smith; Floyd Chastain and Tim Siniard with The Cleveland Daily Banner. Following the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and prayer by Pastor Stan Gibson with Candies Creek Baptist Church the following business was then entered into: WAIVE READING OF MINUTES Vice Mayor 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 March 11, 2019 and approve them as written. The motion was seconded by Councilman May; and upon roll call, the motion unanimously passed. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Brooks read the following proclamation commending the Bradley Bearettes for their High School State Championship. “CONGRATULATIONS BRADLEY CENTRAL” “HIGH SCHOOL BEARETTES” Congratulations, to the Bradley Central High School Barrette players, Hannah Lombard, Kaleigh Hughes, Anna Roberts, Kaitlin Hullender, Anna Walker, Amelia Rueter, Alexis Barnes, Cambree Mayo, Anna Muhonen, Jamia Williams, Jamaryn Blair, Ashton Estrada, Kelsey Carman, Syler Falcon and Ashian Crittenton who last week won the TSSAA State Class AAA Championship in Murfreesboro; and . . . Congratulations, this success was under the direction of Coach Jason Reuter who has led the Bearettes to a 267-32 record in 9 seasons; and . . . . Congratulations, the team has 8 District 5AAA regular season titles; 9 District 5AAA tournament titles; and 8 Region 3AAA tournament titles; and . . . . Congratulations, to the Bearettes, the winningest team in the state of Tennessee with 2734 victories, and Congratulations, to Assistant Coaches Katie Frazier and Amy Tinsley; Statisticians Keith Freeman and Adam Belford; Gary Ownbey and Steve Wills from Mix 101.4 and Joe Cannon from the Cleveland Daily Banner for their outstanding support all season, p. 409 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -409- MINUTE BOOK 29 NOW THEREFORE, We, Kevin Brooks, Mayor of the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland City Council do hereby congratulate the Bradley Central High School Bearettes for their 2018-2019 championship season. Coach Reuter thanked the City Council and stated the kids have worked very hard to represent Cleveland and Bradley County. The ladies are good students, with a combined 3.9 GPA and he is very proud of them. Councilman Hughes thanked Coach Reuter for his leadership and demeanor. The team had lots of support in the community and thanked the parents for their support. This is a big deal to win the Championship. It has been forty-three years. Bradley High now has six championships. They practice and review film, it’s the hard work that counts. Councilman Hughes also recognized the all-district team, all-region team members and Jamaryn Blair, who is a sophomore and is the most valuable player in the State of Tennessee. He then congratulated all team members, coaches and support staff on the Championship. Mayor Brooks stated today we have a hearing for public comments concerning the application for the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Eagle Liquor to be located at 1800 Dalton Pike SE. City Manager Joe Fivas stated this application was turned in and from everything we looked at from a cursory review, appears the application is complete. Mayor Brooks asked if anyone would like to speak concerning the application. Dustin Tommey, Director of City Fields and part of the Blythe Oldfield Association, we stand against this application at 1800 Dalton Pike SE. If I could just knock it out while I am up here, the other applications on Wildwood and Dalton Pike, we feel the same about them. Mayor Brooks declared the public comments to be closed. Mayor Brooks stated today we have a hearing for public comments concerning the application for the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Southside Liquor & Wine to be located at 1450 Fritz Street SE. City Manager Joe Fivas stated this application appears, from a cursory review, to be complete. One of the issues that needs to be resolved is the application final advertisement was ran a day later than the date the Council set. That would need to be discussed at some point in time. Mayor Brooks asked if anyone would like to speak concerning the application. No one spoke. Mayor Brooks then declared the public comments to be closed. Mayor Brooks stated today we have a hearing for public comments concerning the application for the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Paul’s Liquor to be located at 2254 Dalton Pike SE. City Manager Joe Fivas stated this application appears, from a cursory review, to be complete. Mayor Brooks asked if anyone would like to speak concerning the application. Jake Stum stated he would like to speak against this one, as well as Eagle Liquor, Cleveland Liquor World. He presented the following petition with 323 signatures. It reads: p. 410 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -410- MINUTE BOOK 29 He also asked that his and Dustin Tommey’s statements from today’s Work Session be entered in to the minutes. They are as follows: Thank you City Council for allowing us to speak today. I work for City Fields and also live in the Blythe Oldfield neighborhood. As you know there are now four liquor store applications for Wildwood avenue, all within a short distance of one another. This is problematic for many reasons. I would like to briefly speak to some of these reasons. First, for economic development purposes this is a problem. As you know, businesses tend to cluster. A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. This can be a very positive thing for many areas and has already benefited this region with Volkswagen and Wacker and others who cluster together. However, this can be a very bad thing too. If we allow these liquor stores to cluster along wildwood it will absolutely be detrimental to the area. Second, for health purposes. It doesn't take long to research scholarly peer-reviewed articles to establish that a high concentration of alcohol establishments within a low-income area will magnify the already existing problems. You will consistently find that Alcohol Outlet Density and neighborhood poverty will result in a magnification of problems such as binge drinking and violent crimes. It is also consistently verified that these negative results are much more significant when Alcohol Outlet Density increases in low income areas as opposed to areas that are more privileged. Studies consistently find - most notably in the Journal on Studies of Alcohol and Drugs that Alcohol Outlet Density thrives most in areas that are most dependent upon alcohol which tends to be low-income areas. Third, for the purposes of neighborhood revitalization. City Fields has worked very hard to help re-establish the dignity of the Blythe Oldfield neighborhood. We want to help do gentrification with justice. We know that growth will happen and change will take place. We are not against liquor stores in Bradly County. We understand that is a way to grow. We are however against what seems to be happening now with four applications in this particular area as a justice issue. It seems that liquor stores are attempting to cluster in a neighborhood that is well known to have addiction issues. This is an injustice that we stand against. We spoke against one application two weeks ago, and now we have four in close proximity. This crosses a line for us Fourth, for the purposes of my family. We moved into the neighborhood over 5 months ago. In that time, on my street alone there has been a stabbing, three house fires, multiple arrests, and several violent crimes. Most of these involved alcohol and drugs. You would be hard pressed to find another street in Cleveland with more safety concerns. I encounter people who are drunk and who are pedestrians at least two times a week. I can tell you that allowing liquor stores to cluster along wildwood will only exacerbate these issues. As a resident who has to explain to my 3 boys over dinner on a regular basis why there are more problems in our new neighborhood than where we lived before, I can confidently say we don't need to add fuel to this fire. I could go on, but time won't allow. I would ask that we be reasonable and have some common sense. It is not healthy or just to allow this to happen. If we approve all of these and allow Wildwood to become a corridor of liquor stores, we will absolutely have significant negative consequences to deal with.” – Jake Stum “On behalf of City Fields and in close partnership with the Blythe Oldfield Community Association, we oppose the idea of having liquor stores on Wildwood Ave. No offense and with all due respect to the applicants, some of which I’m sure are in the audience today, but we believe that the presence of liquor stores would be detrimental to the economic growth and overall revitalization of the SouthEast Cleveland area. Currently there have been 4 applications all within less than 1 mile from each other - all located right between the homeless shelter, the Bradley jail, Cleveland’s largest concentration of public housing, and in the heart of Bradley p. 411 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -411- MINUTE BOOK 29 county’s lowest income census tract. To really understand the implications of this - I would like to draw your attention to the Blythe Oldfield Neighborhood master plan - a copy of which hangs outside the mayor’s office. If we truly want to see these changes happen - and honor the hopes, wishes, and desires of hundreds of residents who gave their input on this plan, then I urge you to vote no to applications for liquor stores on Wildwood Ave. If 4 stores are permitted on this stretch of road, then I can tell you right now that we will be co-conspirators in writing the first chapter in the book of how community development efforts in low income areas get undermined by decisions that are detrimental to the health of neighborhoods we are seeking to transform. With me today are several other residents and leaders who share these sentiments and I would like to invite them to share their thoughts and feelings as well.” -- Dustin Tommey Mayor Brooks declared the public comments to be closed. Mayor Brooks stated today we have a hearing for public comments concerning the application for the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Fish Creek Wine & Spirits to be located at 5200 North lee Highway. City Manager Joe Fivas stated item is on the north side of town. Mr. McKay stated at Old Tasso and North Lee Highway on a vacant lot. It would be a new construction as well. Mr. Fivas stated this application does have a TBI background check, that meets our objective, but we are still waiting on a letter from the Cleveland Police Department. This one is also one that the advertisement ran a day late, which would need to be reminded before action is taken. Mayor Brooks asked if anyone would like to speak concerning the application. Attorney George McCoin stated this store is on the north side of town. Councilman May asked for an explanation of why the advertisement ran one day late. Mr. McCoin replied the Cleveland Daily Banner stopped their Monday publication, which was unknown to the parties when the applications were submitted. It was beyond anyone’s control. Mr. McKay stated we have received the certification of publication. For clarification, the March 18 date was established by the City Council and subsequent to that the Banner stopped publishing on Mondays. Mr. Fivas stated that was a city guideline, not the State’s. Mr. Kimball stated you can change the deadline date if you so choose. Mayor Brooks declared the public comments to be closed. Mayor Brooks stated today we have a hearing for public comments concerning the application for the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Cleveland Liquor World to be located at 1077 Wildwood Avenue. Mr. Fivas stated we have not had a through conversation with the applicant and asked Mr. Jobe to review his findings. Mr. Jobe stated this location is totally in the floodway, which means it has been grandfathered in and you are not allowed to add on to the building. So, we would not be able to issue a building permit. Mayor Brooks asked if anyone would like to speak concerning the application. Pastor Rob Works who pastors Southview Baptist Church at 13th Street and Aurora Avenue, we are very much opposed the administration of business licenses to all of these locations, on spiritual and social matters. He understands the commerce side, profitability and income side but the licenses are intended to create opportunity of wealth, which is the target. The bullseye is the destruction of our families. As a life- long resident of Cleveland and Blythe Oldfield there is no value on what this city has elected. His opposition is founded on the word of God, we shall have no part in this. Our city has made a terrible mistake and understands the City Council has a difficult decision. But he is thoroughly opposed to what is happening in this room today and pray’ s God has mercy on the families that this will have a serious impact upon these applications and the product that is being peddled in our City. Demetris Ramsey, which Bradley Cleveland Services Agency and the Cleveland Emergency Shelter echoed the comments from City Fields and the Oldfield Association. We strongly oppose the issuance of licenses along Wildwood Avenue. Mayor Brooks declared the public comments to be closed. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Hughes moved to approve the following items from the Consent Agenda: • Final Passage - Ordinance No: 2019-11 – heretofore passed on first reading March 11, 2019 and found in Minute Book 29, Page 392; abandoning a portion of unopened right-of-way described as Fernwood Dr NW located off of Robinhood Dr NW (Planning Commission: Approved 5-0; 2 members absent, 2 members not sworn-in). p. 412 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -412- MINUTE BOOK 29 • Final Passage – Motion to Deny Zoning Ordinance No: 2019-12 – heretofore denied on first reading March 1, 2019 and found in Minute Book 29, Page 394; rezoning .63 acres, more or less, located at 4301 Boatright Circle NW (Tax Map 34I Group C Parcels 1.00) from R2 Low Density Single and Multi-Family Residential Zoning District to CG General Commercial Zoning District (Planning Commission: Approved 4-0;1 member recused, 2 members absent, 2 members not sworn-in). • Final Passage - Zoning Ordinance No: 2019-13 – heretofore passed on first reading on March 11, 2019 and found in Minute Book 29, Page 395; rezoning .57 acres, more or less, located at 105 Savannah Ave NE (Tax Map 42G Group D Parcels 26.00) from R1 Single Family Residential Zoning District to R3 Multi Family Residential Zoning District (Planning Commission: Approved 4-0;1 member recused, 2 members absent, 2 members not sworn-in). • Final Passage - Zoning Ordinance No: 2019-14 – heretofore passed on first reading on March 11, 2019 and found in Minute Book 29, Page 396; rezoning .48 acres, more or less, located near the intersection of Michigan Ave Rd and Benton Pike (Tax Map 50 Parcels 55.02) from R1 Single Family Residential Zoning District to CH Commercial Highway Zoning District (Planning Commission: Approved 5-0; 2 members absent, 2 members not sworn-in). • Final Passage - Zoning Ordinance No: 2019-15 – heretofore passed on first reading on March 11, 2019 and found in Minute Book 29, page 403; zoning of about .4 acres located on Triplett Circle NW from the unincorporated county to R1 Single Family Residential Zoning District (Planning Commission: Approved 5-0; 2 members absent, 2 members not sworn-in). • Final Passage - Ordinance No: 2019-16 – heretofore passed on first reading on March 11, 2019 and found in Minute Book 29, Page 405; amending Title 7, Chapter 1 of the Municipal Code to delete section 7-101 entitled Fire Limits. • Surplus Property – Declaring certain equipment as surplus property and placing on Govdeals with minimum bids. The motion to approve the consent agenda was seconded by Councilman Webb; and upon roll call, the motion was unanimously passed. p. 413 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -413- MINUTE BOOK 29 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Councilman Estes moved to table the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Red Hot Liquors to be located at 1708 Wildwood Ave until April 8, 2019 Council meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilman Cassada; and upon roll call, Councilmen Estes, Cassada, Hughes, Webb, McKenzie and Vice Mayor Johnson voted aye. Councilman May voted no. The motion passed 6:1. Councilman Cassada moved to table the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance and Local Liquor Store Privilege License to Georgetown Wine & Spirits to be located at Georgetown Road at Westside Drive until the April 8, 2019 Council meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilman Estes; and upon roll call, Councilmen Cassada, Estes, Hughes, Webb, McKenzie and Vice Mayor Johnson voted aye. Councilman May voted no. The motion passed 6:1. REPORTS OF MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS Councilman Hughes stated Kelsey Cassada received a metal in the Ashville North Carolina tournament in which Tennessee Wesleyan University participated and she became the leading golfer. Vice Mayor Johnson reported he received a street light request at the corner of 1st Street and Berry Street in front of United Methodist Church. Councilman Estes asked Tommy Myers to check on Shepperd Street at 6th Street where someone has dumped tires down from College Hill. Secondly, he thanked Patti Petitt for the dedication of the Tinsley Tennis Court today. Also, at the underpasses at 17th and 20th after the heavy rains, the crews always have that cleaned up. Saturday and Sunday there were literally thousands of people on the Greenway. Deer Park, he is seeing drainage plan now that the tile has been placed. It is great. Lastly, pickleball at College Hill, great feedback. So many good things in the second district in the last few weeks and upcoming. Councilman Cassada stated he has received a lot of feedback on the Georgetown Road liquor store application and a resident was here to speak. Jim Smith, who lives on Glen Haven Cove stated he is opposed to the facility. It will be a determent to the community. The traffic on Georgetown is already horrendous and this would just add to it. The product they are wanting to sell causes a lot of bad problems, like emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The negatives go on and on that this product causes. His parents both died alcoholics, so he’s lived and experienced it. There are no positives with this product. He thanked the City Council for their time. NEW BUSINESS AND ORDINANCES Councilman Cassada moved that the Candies Lane project at Inverness Drive not include a left turn lane. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Johnson; and upon roll call unanimously passed. Mayor Brooks stated we have a request from Councilman Estes to include opinions from MTAS/CTAS and/or insurers. Councilman Estes will you elaborate further. Councilman Estes stated he is going to put this motion into three parts for us and for staff. Not CTAS but certainly MTAS and any insurer or any expert in these two issues, I’d like for us to seek a legal opinion. There are two legal opinions I’m asking for and there’s a third part that involves all of this. The first one is, would our actions to turn down liquor applications be arbitrary if our ordinance contradicts the City Charter? Would it be arbitrary if our ordinance contradicts the Tennessee Constitution? Is it arbitrary on our part to say no, if research verifies over and over again shows the harm of this in certain areas of town? Secondly, maybe even more important, seek a legal opinion, which may be a whole set of different attorneys, can we unwind this ordinance and start over. At 1 o’clock we had a local attorney suggest just that. We’ve made mistakes before and our own attorney said, well, if you want to change the date, we’re going to change the rules, we’ve changed the rules on this ordinance along the way. What a mess. We need an outside opinion. p. 414 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -414- MINUTE BOOK 29 Can we use an eraser and start over on this ordinance? Third, part of my motion Mayor and I’m begging for a second here is that any other question that any of us have please submit them to Joe, so the attorneys can give us some direct guidance on this in the next few weeks. Councilman Webb replied you say in the next few weeks? Councilman Estes responded prior to April 8. I know that is a tight timeline to seek this, but I can’t think of an issue as important that we can deal with. I’m not asking staff how to do this, but Joe has been very good in meeting with us one on one and prior to April 8 he can meet with each of us and say hey this is what was said. Mr. Kimball suggested that at 1:00 and it’s a good policy. Councilman Webb replied I only ask because I done think it’s fair to these folks we are holding in limbo. We don’t need to stretch this out any further than we have to. Councilman Estes responded we have sixty days and that’s why we need to get it as fast as we can. Councilman Hughes asked what are you saying when you say unwind? Councilman Estes replied take a big eraser, take it all out and reset it. Councilman May asked about the ones that have already been approved. Councilman Estes replied that is why we are seeking legal opinion. Councilman Hughes stated we have one gentleman who says he is opening in a few days. Councilman May stated are you going to try to stop him? Councilman Estes replied I am seeking legal opinion. I voted for him. Councilman May stated he believes the toothpaste is already out of the tube. Councilman Estes stated the toothpaste might be out of the tube, but this is the only way, that I see right now to give us a full and complete picture for staff and the City to go forward in this situation. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKenzie. Mr. Fivas stated we have some applications that, arguably have been turned in a day late. When and how should the Council and staff move forward to work on those issues, which could be a separate motion. We just need feedback on how to move forward. Councilman Hughes stated he didn’t feel we could hold back the applications. When we set the date and then the Banner no longer have a Monday issue. I don’t believe it is fair to the applicants to make that an issue. When it is offered he will make a motion to that affect. Councilman Estes stated these are separate issues. The opinions requested of multiple attorneys, irrespective of the application status of everyone else, still need to be answered. He agrees with Councilman Hughes. Mayor Brooks called for the roll call on Councilman Estes’ motion. Upon roll call, the motion unanimously passed. Councilman Hughes moved to accept the applications received late for consideration. They should not be denied on the basis of publication. [Southside Liquor & Wine, Fish Creek Wine & Spirits and Cleveland Liquor World] The motion was seconded by Councilman May. Councilman Estes stated Mr. Kimball thinks we should change the date. Mr. Kimball replied if you are going to change the deadline to accommodate these applications, you should consider the possibility that someone else may wander in with an application. I suggest you change the March 18 deadline by picking another day, since you originally were going to consider all these months ago. Just to avoid possible confusion, it could be wise. Councilman Estes replied not necessarily. He then asked staff to go over every application and anything wrong it is gone and we vote no. No address for a reference when it asks for one. Vote no. We need to find any way we can to slow this down and get it right. Councilman Hughes stated he doesn’t like that. We’ve already accepted the applications and now to go back and look for every little detail, so we can turn them away is not fair. Councilman Estes stated when an application is incomplete it is not fair to those who turned one in complete. When those who follow the rules, it’s just like the Moore thing we voted on, you follow the rules, you get it in, it’s complete, we approve it. Then we are going to let people who don’t follow the rules and it’s not complete it’s not fair to those who actually follow the rules. Councilman Hughes asked who has an incomplete application. Mr. Fivas responded starting today, Southside Liquor was incomplete, but they have gotten us the notification from the paper, so that’s been remedied. As previously stated everything in our cursory review seems to be that it’s complete. We got a number of these and our goal is to make sure that we can answer the question that they are 100% complete. We have a check sheet, we go through what they have and don’t have and if they comply. Right now, we think that it does, but we would like to look at it one more time. Cleveland Liquor World, which is in the floodway, doesn’t make it incomplete, it just doesn’t meet our stormwater requirements. Mayor Brooks called for roll on the motion. Upon roll call, the motion unanimously passed. p. 415 REGULAR SESSION MARCH 25, 2019 PAGE -415- MINUTE BOOK 29 ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Brooks announced that Mayor Emeritus Rowland had documents 1928 original Charters and signatures who were the original stock purchasers of the Cleveland Cherokee Hotel. They will be turned over to the Museum for archive purposes. Again, thanks to Patti Petitt for the successful ribbon cutting of the Tony Cavitt Tennis Complex as well as the G-Pac ribbon cutting at the dog park. Lastly, Happy Birthday to Councilman Hughes. There being no future business the meeting was adjourned at 4:06 p.m. _________________________________ ______________________________ Mayor City Clerk