Board of Mayor & Aldermen

City of Dyersburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday, July 18, 2022 1. Call to Order : The Board of Mayor and Aldermen convened for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 18, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building Courtroom. Mayor John Holden called the meeting to order. All members were present except for Alderman James Baltimore and Alderwoman Meghan Gilbert. The meeting opened with a prayer by Alderwoman Vanedda Webb. 2. Staff and Others Present: Steve Isbell, Police Chief; Brandon Hutcheson, State Gazette; Kim Worley and Chris Dishman, City School Representatives; Pastor Earnest Washington and his parishioners. 3. Approval of Minutes: Mayor John Holden called for a motion to approve the minutes from the June 29, 2022 meeting. Alderman Edward Burks made a motion to approve the minutes and Alderman Willie Cole seconded the motion. All were in favor. 4. Unfinished Business: Steve Isbell, Dyersburg City Police Chief, addressed the Board and the members of the audience. He stated that he would like to address a harmful and reckless rumor regarding removing SRO’s (School Resource Officers) in the city schools. Mr. Isbell indicated that this rumor is completely false information. He went on to outline the history of the SRO’s in the city schools and indicated that SRO’s in our schools is a priority for the Police Department. He did indicate that the police department currently has 6 vacancies and 2 officers at the academy now and are always looking for new recruits. Willie Cole said that he hopes we can find recruits and officers to fill the SRO positions. Ricky Hammond asked if there is anything the Board can do. Chief Isbell indicated that their continued support would be appreciated. 5. New Business: A. Pastor Earnest Washington: Pastor Washington from the Greater New Macedonia Church of God in Christ addressed the Board. He thanked Willie Cole for getting him on the agenda and went on to outline concerns that he and his parishioners have regarding topics such as garbage pickup for their church and other business, street pot holes not being filled, and trash and debris on the East side of Dyersburg. He said that his church feeds approximately 400-500 people once a month. After this event, they pile their boxes and other debris on the side of the street and it stays there for an extended period of time. The neighbors see this pile and add their own trash and debris. He said this promotes roaches, fleas, rats and other infestations which affects everyone in the neighborhood. They are also encountering gang violence in their neighborhood. Mayor John Holden addressed Pastor Washington’s concerns and indicated that curbside pickup is for residential use not for businesses. He also said that if the church would contact the city in advance of their event, the city would be happy to drop a dumpster so that they could put their trash and debris in that dumpster instead on the side of the street. After the event, the city would pick up the dumpster.  The mayor also read the statistics for various violations which totaled 4,144 for the period of 2018- 2021. During this period there were also 530 city court cases and 167 structures were demolished by the city. He indicated that the city is doing all we can do with the staff we have and the city is taking every measure possible such as meeting with landlords to reduce illegal curbside and overgrown weeds and grass. An issue was also mentioned about possible illegal activity in the cemetery across from Cumberland Street. The mayor indicated that residents should call 311 to report such activity and an officer will be sent to investigate. Mary Claire Hopper also addressed Mr. Washington and indicated that when she ran for her seat on the Board in the previous election her main objective was to clean up the city and make property owners responsible for cleaning up their personal property as well as their rental property. She also indicated the she felt the curbside changes have been an improvement. Willie Cole thanked Mr. Washington for coming to express his concerns. Mayor John Holden thanked Mr. Washington for contacting us and said, “We are here to serve you.” Mayor Holden also outlined the new automated curbside trash pickup that the city will be providing soon. The city will be placing approximately 6500 new trash containers at residences at no cost to residents. Forms are available at City Hall for residents with disabilities and/or elderly residents who require assistance with the new containers. B. Resolution 07182022 - A Resolution authorizing the City of Dyersburg, Tennessee to participate in the TML Risk Management Pool “Safety Partners” Loss Control Matching Grant Program. Mayor John Holden presented Resolution 07182022 – A Resolution authorizing the City of Dyersburg, Tennessee to participate in the TML Risk Management Pool “Safety Partners” Loss Control Matching Grant Program. If approved, this Resolution enables the city to receive a $3,000 grant to enhance the safety and well-being of the employees of the City of Dyersburg. Alderman Dennis Moody made a motion to approve the resolution and Alderman Ricky Hammond seconded the motion. All were in favor. C. Bids – Greg Williams The following bids were presented, however; no Board action was taken because all of the bids were approved in the FY 2022-2023 Budget. 1. Department: Solid Waste Management Item: Tires for Route & Dumpster Trucks Purpose: Open P.O. for FY 22-23 Budgeted: Yes Notification – State Gazette, direct to 2 vendors Bids: Tucker Tire No Response Triple T Tire $27,800.30 Bid awarded to Triple T Tire, Dyersburg, $27,800.30 2. Department: Police Item: Patrol Pursuit Tires Purpose: Open P.O. for FY 22-23 Budgeted: Yes Notification – State Gazette, direct to 4 vendors Bids: Tucker Tire No Response Lake Rd Service Center $23,980.00 51 Downtown Service Station $24,080.00 Triple T Tire $26,409.96 Bid awarded to Lake Rd Service Center, Dyersburg, $23,980.00 3. Department: Codes Department / E.O.C. Item: MyGov Annual Software Maintenance Purpose: Software subscription for 311 service Budgeted: Yes Notification – None – Proprietary Product Bid awarded to MyGov, Ada, OK, $24,600.00. 4. Department: Water Plant / Wastewater Plant / Recreation Item: 120,000 gallons of Liquid Chlorine Bleach Purpose: Open P.O. for FY 22-23 Budgeted: Yes Notification – State Gazette, direct to 3 vendors Bids: Brenntag Mid-South No Response Hawkins Chemical No Response Harcros Chemicals $246,000.00 Bid awarded to Harcros Chemical Co., Memphis, $246,000.00 5. Department: Street Item: Pot Hole Patching Machine & Emulsion Tank Purpose: Repair Pot Holes Budgeted: Yes Notification – None – Sourcewell Contract # 080521-CME Bid awarded to CMI Equipment Sales, Nashville, $128,896.50. 6. Department: IT Department Item: Fortress Annual Software Subscription Purpose: Cyber security threat monitoring Budgeted: Yes Notification – None – Proprietary Product Bid awarded to Local Government Corp, Columbia, TN, $39,897.00. 7. Department: Recreation Item: Kubota Utility Vehicle Purpose: Facility Maintenance Budgeted: Yes Notification – None – Sourcewell Contract # 122220 Bid awarded to First Choice Farm & Lawn, Dyersburg, $18,886.44. 6. Report from Aldermen: James Baltimore: Not present Edward Burks: Alderman Burks asked about the start date for the new automated trash pickup. Mayor Holden said that the new canisters are currently being manufactured and are supposed to arrive at the city around July 25th and then will be distributed to residents. The hope is for the process to be completed by August 3, 2022. Willie Cole: No report Meghan Gilbert: Not present Ricky Hammond: No report Mary Claire Hopper: No report Dennis Moody: No report Vanedda Webb: Reminded everyone that Early Voting has started. 7. Communications from the Mayor: Mayor Holden commented that tax collections are up from last year (FY 20-21). Last year’s collection was $13,669,895.14 and this year’s (FY 21-22) tax collections were $15,113,088.70 and increase of $1,443,193.66 or 10.56% over last year. 8. Adjournment: With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:34 p.m. __________________________________ Mayor John Holden _______________________________ Scott Ball, City Recorder