Call for Special Meeting

City of Crossville 392 N. Main Crossville, TN 38555 Minutes Thursday, January 2, 2014 8:30 AM Council Chambers Call for Special Meeting Mayor J.H. Graham, III Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt Council Member Jesse Kerley Council Member George Marlow Council Member Pete Souza City Manager David Rutherford City Clerk Sally Oglesby Call for Special Meeting Minutes January 2, 2014 The City Council for Crossville, Tennessee met in special session on Thursday, January 2, 2014, at Crossville City Hall. Mayor J. H. Graham, III was present and presiding. He called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Roll Call Present 5 - Council Member George Marlow, Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt, Mayor J.H. Graham III, Council Member Pete Souza, and Council Member Jesse Kerley Others present were City Manager David Rutherford, City Attorney Kenneth Chadwell, City Clerk Sally Oglesby, Denise Cooper, Andy Vaughn, Vancieneta Wisdom, Bob Schwartz, Bill Schmich, Charlotte Reynolds, Joe Reynolds, Fred Houston, Christy Dolinich, Heather Mullinix, Barbara Thornhill, Peggy Harris, Ray Harris, Frances Carson, Jim Morrow, Jim Purcell, Scot Shanks, Julie Shanks, Lou Morrison, Kendall Morrison, Tim Begley, Margie Buxbaum, Mariska Kavich, Vicki Baucum, Billy Loggins, Michael Siggia, Skyler Hawn, Norma Seloway, and Richard C. Allen. 1) CONSENT AGENDA ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING A motion was made by Mayor J.H. Graham III, seconded by Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt, that ordinances "a, b, and c" be adopted on third and final reading. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5- Council Member George Marlow, Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt, Mayor J.H. Graham III, Council Member Pete Souza and Council Member Jesse Kerley a. Ordinance amending the FY13-14 budget for the Northwest Connector-Section I This Ordinance was adopted on third reading b. Ordinance amending the FY13-14 budget for improvements to Snodgrass Building This Ordinance was adopted on third reading c. Ordinance adding Title 1, Chapter 8 to the Crossville Municipal Code regarding public records This Ordinance was adopted on third reading ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING City of Crossville Page 1 Call for Special Meeting Minutes January 2, 2014 A motion was made by Council Member Jesse Kerley, seconded by Mayor J.H. Graham III, that ordinances "e, f, and g" be passed on second reading. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5- Council Member George Marlow, Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt, Mayor J.H. Graham III, Council Member Pete Souza and Council Member Jesse Kerley d. Ordinance amending the 13-14 budget for Northwest Connector Sections II and III Councilman Souza expressed his displeasure with the Northwest Connector, especially with the financing and cost of the downtown project. A motion was made by Mayor J. H. Graham, III, seconded by Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt, that the ordinance be passed on second reading. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 3- Council Member George Marlow, Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt and Mayor J.H. Graham III Nay: 2- Council Member Pete Souza and Council Member Jesse Kerley e. Ordinance amending the FY13-14 budget for tree clearing grant This Ordinance was approved on second reading f. Ordinance amending the FY13-14 budget for Baisley settlement This Ordinance was approved on second reading g. Ordinance amending the FY13-14 budget for Airsoft Training equipment This Ordinance was approved on second reading 2) OTHER BUSINESS a. Matters relative to Veterans’ Cemetery As discussed in a work session in September, the Veterans’ Administration is looking at a site for a proposed veterans’ cemetery in this area . A site has been proposed off Albert Frye Road that is a portion of the property purchased for the former landfill. There is approximately 208 acres available in unused property. Albert Frye Road will need to be improved at a cost estimated at $400,000. A preliminary estimate for a sewer line extension is $106,000. Bill Ward, Cumberland County Veterans’ Service Officer, discussed the project with the City Manager and requested that a formal letter be prepared that would indicate that the City would deed the property to the state should the site be selected and approved by the VA. Mayor Graham asked that the letter describe the particulars of the property that would be offered and that the City employees would open the graves at the same rate that is charged at city cemetery. City Manager Rutherford recommended approval of the offer. Councilman Souza related past experiences in locating a veterans cemetery in California and his belief that a sewer extension was not City of Crossville Page 2 Call for Special Meeting Minutes January 2, 2014 necessary because he felt a septic system would be adequate. He expressed his full support of the project, but he would not recommend any other attractions at the site. A motion was made by Mayor J.H. Graham III, seconded by Council Member Jesse Kerley, that the City of Crossville work with the Veterans Administration through a letter to be written by the City Manager offering a certain portion of a named 200 acre tract to the Veterans Administration for free and that they be offered an opening and closing of graves contract to be worked out by the City Manager. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5- Council Member George Marlow, Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt, Mayor J.H. Graham III, Council Member Pete Souza and Council Member Jesse Kerley b. Matters relative to Downtown Improvement Project Bids were received on December 18, 2013. The sole bid received was from Highways, Inc. in the amount of $7,646,463.40. The City Clerk explained that this would be a tentative award to move the bids to the funding agencies for their approval. Once all the approvals are received, it will come back to the Council for final approval and award. Mayor Graham read a letter concerning his potential conflicts, which is attached and made a part of these minutes. City Attorney Chadwell responded that the Mayor did not have a conflict of interest under the charter or code and a disclosure was not required. Councilman Marlow also commented that they all have friends and family affected by virtually every item brought before the Council. Mayor Pro-Tem Wyatt discussed his concerns with the project specifically about the costs of the project and the amount of grants, potential tax increases, future maintenance of the stamped concrete, and turn radius for tractor trailers. Mayor Graham responded that he has letters from two previous Commissioners of the Department of Transportation who indicated that the City can designate truck routes and keep tractor trailers off Main Street, except for deliveries and other specific reasons. Mayor Pro-Tem Wyatt stated that he would support a referendum; however, he recognized that grant funds would be lost. He stated that ADA requirements are only required to be 100% if we do a renovation and it was his opinion that the current water pressure is sufficient and the problems are in the buildings themselves. City Manager Rutherford reported that the current 8" line will be replaced with a 12" line, which will provide redundancy for the hospital. The project will also provide storm sewers, correct many I/I issues, increase fire protection as ISO studies show that the City doesn’t have adequate flow to fight fires in many buildings, LED signalization, and resolve ADA issues. He recommended approval. Mayor Pro-Tem Wyatt reported that he had spoken to VEC and they can eliminate the high voltage lines at a relatively small cost. City Manager Rutherford commented that the project would correct additional I/I issues which will provide additional capacity at the WWTP and is critical as the city continues to grow. Councilman Marlow stated that Mayor Pro-tem Wyatt brought up a lot of good issues; however, the decision should have been decided years ago before the commitment was made and the money spent. He also expressed concerns about the City's ability to obtain grants in the future if these grants were turned back in. Councilman Souza reported that the Fire Chief indicated that he could fight the fires if the water plant turned up the pressure and that he was concerned with keeping the costs in line. However, the issues need to be resolved. He pointed out that the $500,000 from DCI money is a promise and not a contract. He agreed that there were arguments in both directions; but the storm water has to be taken care of and he envisioned this project as the seed for the city’s future . City of Crossville Page 3 Call for Special Meeting Minutes January 2, 2014 Mayor Pro-Tem Wyatt stated that he didn’t remember the Council ever taking an up or down vote on the project and that he believes the stone sidewalks will be a problem. He expressed concern about paying for the project. Councilman Kerley commented that if the City needs to fix water problems, then that needs to be done, but that he was not in favor of the beautification part. Mayor Graham responded that 80% of the project is infrastructure. He discussed payment options through Rural Development and commented that the city's finances are in very good shape. He believed that the project would take a 5-6 cent tax increase. He did not want to wait until a waterline breaks or there are fire or flooding issues before starting to fix the problems, which would cause a lot of inconvenience. He stated that he felt that now is the time to do it while we have the grants and that it would never be cheaper and the grants would be gone. Councilman Souza asked to amend the motion to make the vote the final decision. However, the motion made by the Mayor was read to confirm that the vote would be the final decision on the award of the project. City Manager Rutherford stated that he expects the City to have a commitment of approximately $5.7M to borrow and pay back. A motion was made by Mayor J.H. Graham III, seconded by Council Member George Marlow, that the downtown improvement project be approved, subject to the final approval by all the lending agencies and grant agencies. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 3- Council Member George Marlow, Mayor J.H. Graham III and Council Member Pete Souza Nay: 2- Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt and Council Member Jesse Kerley c. Approval of City of Crossville State Team Championship sponsorship Marketing Director Billy Loggins explained that this event has enjoyed a long history being played in this community. The tournament honors the late Bobby Nichols, a PGA Professional and former golfer and coach at Tennessee Tech . Formerly known as the KDS State Team Championship, it was sponsored by Ken and Doug Standifer until Ken’s health failed and the business was sold . After several years of not having the tour, Lake Tansi Professional Aubrey King and Billy Loggins discussed bringing it back with the City as Sponsor. This will be the sixth year the City has sponsored the event for the Tennessee Golf Association. The format is the golf professionals around the state bring their club’s best amateurs . There are team prizes, as well as individual prizes, including low senior amateur and professional. This tournament is designed as a level 1 state event, meaning the results go toward player of the year awards. The tournament will be in July at Lake Tansi. There will be approximately 100 players. The funding amount is $15,000 for the two day event. This Resolution was approved as recommended d. Approval of Golf Capital High School Invitational sponsorship The Golf Capital High School Invitational will take place in August and played at Fairfield Glade, Heatherhurst Golf Course with both boys and girls participating. There will be approximately 120 players. The funding amount is $8,000 for the two day event. A motion was made by Mayor J. H. Graham, III, seconded by Councilman Jesse Kerley, that sponsorship of the City of Crossville State Team Championship and the Golf Capital High School Invitational Tournaments be approved. City of Crossville Page 4 Call for Special Meeting Minutes January 2, 2014 Aye: 3- Council Member George Marlow, Mayor J.H. Graham III and Council Member Jesse Kerley Nay: 2- Mayor Pro-tem Danny Wyatt and Council Member Pete Souza ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 a.m. City of Crossville Page 5