Board of Mayor & Aldermen

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGEi CITY OF HENDERSONVILLE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING May 13, 2025, at 7:00 P.M. 101 Maple Drive North, Hendersonville, TN 37075 PRESENT JAMTE CLARY, MAYOR MARK SKIDMORE, VICE-MAYOR, ALDERMAN NlARK BURGDORF, ALDERMAN RACHEL COLLINS, ALDERMAN KAREN DIXON, ALDERMAN MARK EVANS, ALDERMAN JANNA GARTON, ALDERMAN BOB GARZA, ALDERMAN TERRI GOODWIN, ALDERMAN MICHAEL MARTIN, ALDERMAN EDDIE ROBERSON, ALDERMAN JEFF SASSE, ALDERMAN DON WARD, ALDERMAN LANCE WRAY, CITY ATTORNEY ANNETTE HUNTER, CITY RECORDER DESIGNEE The May 13, 2025, the BOMA meeting opened with prayer led by Jason Cline, Men's & Community Outreach Pastor/Chaplain of Indian Lake Peninsula Church. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Clary. AGENDA Goodwin moved; Dixon seconded the motion to accept the May 13, 2025, agenda. Clary noted the two-week rule was waived for Ordinance 2025-09 under Ordinances and Resolutions. There was a unanimous vote to approve the agenda. Clary declared the motion carried. PRESENTATIONS Mayor Clary recognized High School Student Council Officers from Beech, Hendersonville Christian Academy, Hendersonville High School, Pope John Paul II, and Station Camp High Schools. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE2 Lucy Alegria, Student Council Sponsor, accompanied the following students from Beech High School: Braden Cole - Student Body President Lizzie Shipley- VP of Marketing Greer Huffine - VP of Management and Engagement Carleigh Andrews - Liaison to other classmen Reece Mitchell - School Spirit Chair Kodi Wilson - Senior Class President Lisa Baugh, Student Council Sponsor, accompanied the following students from Hendersonville High School: Valentina Gallegos-Olivares - Student Vice-President Olivia Howden - Student Secretary Lucy Miller- Student Treasurer Daphne Coomer and Christy LaPointe, Student Council Sponsors accompanied the foll owing students from Station Camp High School: Emma Ketchum - Sophomore Class President Molly Rector - Freshman Class President Komtney Young - Freshman Class Vice-President John Valentin, Student Life Director, accompanied the following students from Hendersonville Christian Academy: Nathan Snyder - Student President Nate Love - Student Vice-President Jayne Tuerff, Student Activities Director, accompanied the following students from Pope John Paul II High School: Hudson Nitsch - House of Clement President Emeri Langlois - House of Emory President Ethan Jacob - House of John President McKay Dulany - House of Leo Vice-President Mikey Mosesmann - House of Peter President Maya Briggs - House of Pius President Mayor Clary presented Employee Service Awards to the following employees: 35 Years Police - Terry Smith MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE3 25 Years Fire - Troy Bishop (Present) Fire - Bryan Boyer (Present) Fire - Michael Brown 20 Years Central Admin - Deborah Trisdale (Present) Fire - Stephen Ryan (Present) Fire -David Osborne Fire - Timothy Smith Police - Seneca Smith Police- Neal Harris (Present) Police - Sharon Kirker Roads - Loren Perdue 15 Years Fire - Russell Judkins Fire - Christopher Willyard Police - Eric Freeman Police - Phillip Siemiaczko Police - Timothy Denning Police - Thomas Holman Police - Betsy Mullins Public Works - William Buerkett 10 Years Building & Codes - Greg Story Fire - William Hart Fire - Caleb Paul Fire - Corey Shelton Fire - Andrew Holliday It Department - David Brigance (Present) Parks - Mason Stidham Police - John Newberry Police - Matthew Sigmund (Present) Public Works- Raymond Bolton Public Works - Sarah Lock (Present) 5 Years Building & Codes - Freddy Morgan Finance - Jessica Cunningham Fire - Christopher Chandler Fire - Nicholas Haffner MTNUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE4 Fire - Zachary King It Department - Shardae Robinson It Department - Jason Hollars (Present) Parks - Dylan Jordan Police - Robert Wilkins Police - William Wright Police - Matthew NeJms Police - Sarah Ulakey Police - Michael Armaleh Police - Angelique Early Police - Stephen Goodwin Police - Thomas Binkley Police - Julius Edwards Police - Holli Byrd Public Works - Richard Michalec PUBLIC HEARING None MINUTES Burgdorf moved; Ward seconded a motion to approve April 22, 2025, BOMA Meeting minutes. There was no discussion. There was a unanimous vote to approve the minutes. Clary declared the motion carried, CITIZENS' COMMENTS The guidelines were read by Mayor Clary. Charlena Aumiller of 143 Ruland Circle addressed the Board with questions regarding the proposed budget and why there were position changes from one fiscal year to the other and felt they should be kept the same to be comparable. She spoke in support of raises for all employees as inflation affects everyone. She spoke against an increase in property taxes and separating the trash fee. She asked that the PIPP funds generated from the sales tax referendum be used to pay for the salary increases. Dale Payne of 230 Shivel Drive, owner of Sumner Roofing, addressed the Board in support of an increase in pay for firefighters. He shared a personal experience that involved the firefighters and spoke of their kindness and how they went out of their way to assist him in his time of need and follow up with him afterwards. Daniel Balsbaugh, Paul Vrable, Gabe Hannah, and Chief Bush were specifically named as going above and beyond as well as other firefighters who called to check on him. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGES Brenda Allen of216 Township Drive addressed the Board in support of an increase in pay for firefighters. She shared a personal experience that involved both the Police and Firefighters when her husband had a medical issue. Their actions that day saved his life. Mike Scudder and Hal Scarborough were the two firefighters who arrived on the scene and assisted Mr. Allen. Brian Stewart of l O12 Rowbarton Court, owner of One Stop Realty, addressed the Board as a citizen and Hendersonville business owner in support of a raise for firefighters, stating as a realtor he is aware that people move to Hendersonville for two main reasons; safety and education. When the need arises, people want there to be trained and educated personnel to respond. He asks that the firefighters be paid their due to not lose them to surrounding cities and counties. Randy Martin of 101 English Court addressed the Board concerning the pay disparity between Fire and Police and in support of an increase in pay for firefighters. He is a retired Metro Nashville Police Officer who began his service in 1984 and is still serving the public today. He requested the Board not cause division and follow their campaign promises as their first responsibility is to provide a safe and healthy environment for the citizens. Matthew Sigmund of 242 West Main Street serving as President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 63, addressed the Board with a cost-saving proposal for healthcare. He described a free wellness benefit program that adds to the current benefit by using federal tax codes that change how benefits are taxed and reimbursed resulting in potential savings of $380,000.00. He requested serious consideration by the Board and requested a report back to FOP Lodge 63 after speaking with representatives of the program. Donna Swift of l O12 Crutcher Station Drive, Property Manager of a Senior Care Facility addressed the Board in support of an increase in pay for the firefighters. She expressed her appreciation to both Police and Fire, highlighting Fire's interaction with the senior residents providing education by having random fire drills and showing compassion. She spoke of a situation in which Chief Bush called her personally to make sure the family could be contacted regarding their loved one's emergency. Kimberly Overton of 104 Glen Oak Court West addressed the Board in support of an increase in pay for the firefighters. She shared a personal experience of why she takes the stance of support she has shown in the last several BOMA meetings. Larry Bond of 273 Lake Terrace Drive addressed the Board regarding flooding issues in his neighborhood from stormwater, and overtime and funding at the Fire Station. The Fire Department has been assisting him by using a pump to redirect the water into the lake. He has recently been told by ChiefBush that due to low staffing and no overtime Jeft in the budget, the Fire Department can no longer respond. The standing water has caused a tree to fall on his home and create biohazardous conditions. Kody Shannan of 495 Albion Circle addressed the Board in support of an increase in pay for firefighters. He shared his personal experience of a motorcycle wreck and how the firefighter providing assistance to him, aided in saving his life, stayed in touch with him from the hospital to his return home and beyond. Steve Ryan was the firefighter. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE6 He stated the firefighters are not only trained and skilled, but they are ethical, caring and giving. They are truly community servants. Shay Binkley of 111 Chickamauga Drive addressed the Board in support of an increase in pay for firefighters. She shared a personal experience of care and compassion received from Mayor Clary and First Responders when their home was struck by lightning, displacing them with four young children. Her husband was on duty that night as a First Responder who answered the call at his own home along with Chief Bush. She stated leadership is the key precedent that sets the culture. She asked the Board to find common ground, get everyone on the same page and align the departments. CONSENT AGENDA None. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS The caption was read for first reading of Ordinance 2025-09, an ordinance of the City of Hendersonville, Tennessee adopting the annual budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026 (Subject to approval by the Board, pursuant to Ordinance 2002-12. Clary moved; Dixon seconded a motion to approve Ordinance 2025-09. Clary gave a brief history of how the cost of trash collection has been handled over the years. He then presented the results of a scenario he had been asked to provide by pulling the trash fee out of the tax rate and charging a flat fee. Clmy moved; Martin seconded a motion to amend Ordinance 2025-09 by adopting a trash fee of $297.00 and reduce the tax rate by $.01606 to $.4277. Evans shared comparisons of the costs to homeowners using a $500,000.00 & a $250,000.00 home value as examples using the current tax rate and the proposed tax rate with the trash fee added. Each example would pay more, but the lower value homes will have a bigger impact. Sasse, Martin, Ward, Dixon, and Roberson expressed they could not support this scenario. The motion failed one (1) to twelve (12) with the single aye vote being cast by Clary. Clary declared the motion failed. Roberson stated he had an amendment to offer to the Mayor's proposed budget. Discussion included Eckenroth giving a brief explanation of the Mayor's proposed budget and the five (5) scenarios presented at the Special Called Finance Committee prior to the BOMA meeting. As a point of clarification, Evans noted that the parity trying to be attained was with the 2023 pay study; we are now in 2025. Martin expressed his appreciation for all the work done on the budget and the scenarios. He supports Scenario 2. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE7 Roberson stated he would withdraw his amendment to hear Martin's proposal of Scenario 2 with a balanced budget. Martin did not want to present his option until after the workshop but asked Roberson to continue with his. Roberson began by expressing to employees, especially Fire Department employees, the entire Board does care about them contrary to what has been said and what impressions have been given. He shared a personal experience when the Fire Department came to his aid in time of emergency. He explained his proposal (Scenario #5) stating all employees not addressed in the mid-year budget adjustment would receive 2.0% COLA, 2.5% merit raise and 6% up to the top two grades of 25 and 26, which would receive 2.5%. To pay for the proposal and retain a balanced budget that is fiscally sound, he recommended moving $150,000.00 for the pay study from the operating budget to be paid out of the fund balance as a one-time non-recurring expense. Roberson moved; Garza seconded an amendment to Ordinance 2025-09 proposing a 6% increase, a 2.0% COLA, and a 2.5% merit raise for all City employees with the exception ofPolice and the top two grades of 25 and 26 which would receive 2.5%. Goodwin moved; Dixon seconded a motion to take a break at 8:41 pm. There was a unanimous vote to approve the motion. Clary declared the motion carried. Discussion continued after the break with Sasse proposing to hold off voting on the budget tonight so all options could be brought to the workshop and reviewed, then voted on at the next BOMA meeting. Dixon relayed a suggestion mentioned by Eckenroth at a previous workshop regarding putting policy around how the pay studies are looked at, adjusting pay at budget time. She suggested the General Committee look at creating an ordinance for that purpose. Some wanted to hear and discuss all options tonight while others wanted to wait for the workshop as more time was needed to evaluate the proposals. Ward inquired about the Finance Committee's recommendation after the special-called meeting tonight which Sasse responded was a negative recommendation for the Mayor;s Budget with no recommendations for a budget. Department Heads were given the opportunity to address the Board by answering questions posed by Robertson as to whether they were having trouble attracting and retaining employees and Ward inquired as to how many positions they were down. Chief Bush responded he was having issues with both attracting and retaining employees as applicants used to run upwards of 350 and now it's around 100. 33 have left since 2019 due to varying reasons such as retirement, obtaining higher paying positions elsewhere or applicants didn't meet the qualifications and standards and were not retained after their six-month probationary period. He is currently down one (1) position with three (3) upcoming retirements. Director Gilley stated the lower to midMmaintenance positions and admin positions had people leave for other opportunities. There were varying reasons for departures. He currently has no open positions but will have two (2) in August. Director Lock shared she MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13,2025 PAGES has had difficulty filling the engineering positions and maintenance staff as welJ as retention. She received a resignation today as an opportunity for more pay. 60% of Public Works has been with the City less than five (5)-ten (10) years. Currently she is down two (2) positions. Director Free shared he has had difficulty fi lling positions. Most have left for more pay, higher level positions and more flexible opportunities. He is currently down one (1) position, but come Monday he will be down no positions. Director Ingersoll relayed there had been difficulty filling the latest position added for Centralized Procurement. Six. (6) of the thirteen (13) Finance employees have been on staff for less than three (3) years. She is currently fully staffed. Director Story stated recruiting is difficult due to required certifications. He currently has a staff of nine (9) that once was ten ( 10). One took a demotion for the opportunity to work from home. That salary was sacrificed to help two (2) other positions increase. He is currently down no positions. Director Gallo stated his focus falls to retention. He oversees HR, IT, and Public Information Departments. Any of those positions can be lost to the private industry making a lot more money. Retention of rock-solid employees (praised as being currently on staff) is about the culture that is created as well as acknowledging their work. He is currently down no positions. Chief Jones is currently down at least nine (9) positions but could be twelve (12). Director Ingersoll was asked to explain why the PIPP fund was under the projected $9 million dollars. She explained. that with the reduction of sales tax on groceries, it has come in less. Roberson withdrew his amendment, with Garza in agreement. Roberson moved; Sasse seconded a motion to defer a decision on the Mayor's Budget to the May 27, 2025, BOJ\1A meeting, requiring any other budget proposals, other than the Mayor's proposed budget and the five (5) scenarios, be presented at the Special Called Finance Committee Workshop on May 15, 2025, and the proposals must be legal. There was no discussion. There was a unanimous vote to approve the motion to defer. Clary declared the motion carried. The caption was read for Resolution 2025-16, a resolution adopting the Traffic Impact Study Guide to evaluate transportation impacts associated with new development and land use changes. Martin moved; Skidmore seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2025-16. There was no discussion. There was a unanimous vote to approve Resolution 2025-1 6. MINUTES OF REGULAR rv:fEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE9 Clary declared the motion carried. OTHER AGENDA ITEMS Clary moved; Martin seconded to elect Matt Young as a member of the Sumner County Resource Authority. Clary briefly explained what the Resource Authority was and the City's involvement. There was no discussion. There was a unanimous vote for the election of Matt Young. Clary declared the motion carried. BRIEF COMMITTEE REPORTS General - Garza • Met May 13, 2025 • Discussed Ordinance 2025-10, an ordinance granting franchise to Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. There were questions about the percentages. Passed with a neutral recommendation. • Discussed Resolution 2025-17, a resolution directing staff to explore the relocation of the United States Post Office currently located at 105 Imperial Blvd, Hendersonville, Tennessee. Passed with a positive recommendation on the dates. Public Safety - Goodwin • Met May 13, 2025 • Discussed issues with residents from a certain area oftown. They will be working with the Chief of Police. The committee gave them suggestions. Planning - Martin • Discussed a variance request for Falcon Ridge by Ryan Homes. PotentiaJiy purchasing land from American Homes for Rent. They will build larger homes, and they will be selling them, not renting them. The land is difficult to develop, and Ryan Homes is going to invest more to make it a better development. Also discussed a road for connectivity. Approved • Discussed Best Buy's signage request. Coming into Glenbrook Shopping Center. Approved. • Discussed the Drakes Creek Maintenance Complex Site Plan. Moving the building out of the flood plain. Approved. • Planning Director Comments-May 20, 2025, there will be a work session at 6:30 to go over some changes in the zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations. Finance - Special Called- Sasse • Met May 13, 2025 • Discussed Ordinance 2025-09, an ordinance of the City of Hendersonville, MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 13, 2025 PAGE 10 Tennessee adopting the annual budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. Reviewed the trash fee scenario and different salary scenarios. Negative recommendation. BOMA Report-Eckenroth • Jesse asked ifthere were any questions about the upcoming Budget Workshop meeting Thursday night at 7: 15 pm in the Main Meeting Room. Ward inquired about the capacity of the room as he invited residents of specific roads named in Ward 2 to come to the Budget Workshop to get an answer on why their roads were not paved. • Ward praised the Hendersonville Firefighters Association for raising awareness. • Eckenroth offered congratulations to the employees earning service awards. • The Hometown Jam on 5/26/2025 featuring the Isaacs and the French Family was noted. • There will be improvements made on Main Street and Indian Lake after school is out for the summer. • There will be a tum lane added at Sanders Ferry, south of Main Street after school is out for the summer. • Recognized Cindy Stewart and Tyler Gustafson of the Finance Department for completing and receiving their CMFO Certification. • Casey LaMarr reflected on last week's Employee Appreciation activities. • There will be roadwork and closures on portions of Sanders Ferry Road on Wednesday (5/14) and Thursday (5/15). NES will be replacing leaning poles from 8:30 am - 2:00 pm from Spadeleaf Blvd. to Hickory Heights. • Old Shackle Island at Main Street will be closed from May 19-25, 2025, for the realignment project. • Evans asked how to make sure the projects were on schedule and that closings will be happening as there was an unexpected closure on Old Shackle Island due to Hendersonville Utility doing some work with the realignment project. LaMarr explained there was a breakdown in communication so the City was unaware of the closure and was not able to put any advanced notice out. • The list has been compiled for the roads to be paved next fiscal year with a $6.5 million dollar budget. • Reviewed statistics shared in the BOMA report. Upon motion by Dixon and second by Garton there was a unanimous vote for approval to adjoum. C l 1 ; ;• ~ e d at 10:04 p.m. Approved: Jamie Clary, Mayor ./"/ !